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Be warned of the time sink that is trying to get mods running on desktop Minecraft.

Each version update breaks compatibility and your kids have a hard time understanding why they can’t use that cool mod their friend told them about at school where they portal to the moon!

You might get better answers at https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/

8yo is a great age to play MC with friends. Look around in the forums for kid friendly servers, or host your own.