I remember when alpha 1.8 was released and mobs would drop enchanting XP as multiple orbs worth one point each. It was fine for cows, but killing even a moderately high level player would drop thousands of orbs and basically implode reality in a radius of several chunks. Good times.
That ultra-amplified TINK, I can still hear it echo along with the gut-drop of anxiety wondering if my cheap laptop was going to keep up or crash out... Good times, genuinely.
I mean.. it's little kids so I was just sorta assuming minecraft bedrock over LAN.. if we're doing proper server stuff and you have the resources to throw around that'd also fix the issue.. though they'd still have to clear the cows manually, so depends on what point in the game they are, an enchanted diamond sword is way less of a hassle than a stone one y'know? :3