Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

gamesbyemail.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 110 posts

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#31

Post by tomjen3 »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #23

This sort of story makes me sad. We don't have a tree house, we don't even have a tree. We don't have money to spend at the DIY store to keep the house in shape never mind making checkers boards for fun. I thought I was getting pretty good at quenching the covetousness that society seemed to have imbued me with but when one realises that stuff is needed for many uplifting experiences. Realising the great joy certain…

My mother used to save the plastic milk crates we got and we would use those and a bit of glue to make stuff.

Doesn't take that much.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#32

Post by tomjen3 »

toyg wrote: post #22

As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…

The equivalent thing for girls?

Build stuff, obviously. Maybe not the same (I for one wouldn't have wanted a checker table as a kid), but building is something everybody should do.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#33

Post by ordinary »

toyg wrote: post #22

As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…

Guy's checkers table was no more a "project for boys" than a project for your daughter (or, better yet, by your daughter) would be a "project for girls". The thing I took away from the OP was to support your children in whatever they do, regardless of whether they want to have tea parties with their friends or climb trees or hack the NSA.

Well, OK, maybe not that last one.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#34

Post by Tichy »

nl wrote: post #21
maeon3 wrote: post #18

Parents who give their kids a regular diet of "High Praise", "Agreeableness", "Supportiveness" and "Positive Interaction", but don't send them to college create children who have higher socioeconomic statuses than children of disconnected parents who send theirs to college. Multiple studies done confirm this. http://books.google.com/books?id=XDq9Xf_NbrMC&lpg=PT28&#... Adam Savage from Mythbusters claimed his love of…

I'm not trying to be pedantic, but that is a book, not a study. I've seen multiple studies that show parents who withhold praise raise higher achievers (personally, I don't like that, but none the less - the studies do exist)

I thought the latest was to praise effort, not achievements. Praising achievements might induce self-consciousness and make kids not try very hard.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#35

Post by jgrahamc »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #23

This sort of story makes me sad. We don't have a tree house, we don't even have a tree. We don't have money to spend at the DIY store to keep the house in shape never mind making checkers boards for fun. I thought I was getting pretty good at quenching the covetousness that society seemed to have imbued me with but when one realises that stuff is needed for many uplifting experiences. Realising the great joy certain…

I made a 'Ponyo' boat out of a used soda can (which I took from the office), a used milk/juice carton (which I took for a party I went to). Didn't cost anything (even the glue I used was the end of a pot of epoxy I've had for years).

http://blog.jgc.org/2011/06/making-ponyo-or-putt-putt-boat.h...

Fun to do if you have kids.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#36

Post by blots »

That's a very inspiring story.

My experience with my parents was quite the opposite. Whenever I would ask for help they'd present me with a heap of arguments why I shouldn't "waste my time on this stuff" and even try to stop me. I finally came to the conclusion that it's best not to ask them at all but try to do it secretly myself and only show them the end result.

The only other possible outcome was them doing it all themselves. Usually saying that they will do it faster and better and won't break or make anything dirty in process. Perfect example of how not to raise children.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#37

Post by sheffield »

toyg wrote: post #22

As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…

I think the moral of this story is that it's not your business. She will decide what she want to do, and her parents should help, and not restrain her, or tell her what to do.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#38

Post by thesystemis »

maeon3 wrote: post #18

Parents who give their kids a regular diet of "High Praise", "Agreeableness", "Supportiveness" and "Positive Interaction", but don't send them to college create children who have higher socioeconomic statuses than children of disconnected parents who send theirs to college. Multiple studies done confirm this. http://books.google.com/books?id=XDq9Xf_NbrMC&lpg=PT28&#... Adam Savage from Mythbusters claimed his love of…

one of the nicest ideas I got from Adam Savage is the idea of a hardware store expense account. His father, instead of giving him an allowance, would give him a certain amount of money he could spend every week at the hardware store.

An artist who is a hero of mine, Toshi Iwai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshio_Iwai) in his talks describes how his parents stopped buying toys for him when he turned 10. He was encouraged to design and build his own toys. When he talks about his art, he always starts by showing these great sketches and flipbooks he made as a ten year old.

anyway, I find this approach (expense account for building supplies, encouraging children to build their own toys) really quite inspiring and plan on trying to raise my children the same way when they are that age.

Re: A lesson on the importance of encouraging your children with their projects

#39

Post by Vivtek »

wlievens wrote: post #19
Eliezer wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He just got his Hogwarts letter.

That comment has an extra layer coming from you .

Speaking of which, Eliezer should stop reading HN and get back to writing, don't you think?
Post reply on HN