How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
1–10 of 20 posts
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#2Forbid it.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#3Forbid it.
that's pretty much the best way to get kids to do anything.
"Whatever you do, son, don't read this Calculus textbook. And you are not allowed to eat these vegetables."
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#4Forbid it.
that's pretty much the best way to get kids to do anything. "Whatever you do, son, don't read this Calculus textbook. And you are not allowed to eat these vegetables."
When I was younger, if my parents told me not to eat vegetables, I’d be happy. I was already refusing to eat them.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#5Forbid it.
That doesn't always work, though. My parents forbidding me from doing something I already wasn't interested in just gave me a good excuse to not do it. Besides, it isn't something that is entirely feasible if any classwork covers it.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#6How old are they? My boys are 5 and 9 and they aren't really interested in "programming" but they love the red stone things you can do in Minecraft. Red stone is basically electricity so they have learned to solve real problems and challenges (to them) like creating doors that open with pressure plates, etc. From there we got an AWS IoT button which will spin up a Minecraft server at the touch of a button.
All of this to say it may help to go into their world instead of them coming into yours. Find interesting problems or challenges they are having and show them you can help. Sometimes my being able to do something with programming will get the, "Whoa, how did you do that?!" Response. I don't expect my kids to actually write code right now but they do know that programming is voodoo magic and they are very interested in it.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#7I was interested in programming at a very young age, because of video games. I wanted to learn to make them. I was interested in video games first. What do they like to do on the computer? Can you find an opportunity for them to make their own version of whatever app they like to use?
I think I was quite naturally inclined to it, though, just like many other girls and boys. If you give your child opportunities to get involved, and they're not interested, it might be a sign that this is not their calling. Perhaps give them opportunities to get involved in something else, and see what naturally grabs them. This is more likely to help them maximize their talents.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#8Computer science can be applied to nearly every subject in which they're already interested. That's your gateway.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#9Lol, I had an answer all written out, then read the last few lines of the article. Nice bait and switch, I actually enjoyed it. I agree, to make money, learn about money. Otherwise you'll always just be someone else's worker/slave... I also enjoy the answers here by people who obviously just read the headline or first few paragraphs, as I did when I formulated my first comment. Well played.
Re: How do I get my son or daughter interested in computer programming?
#10Maybe try some of those programmable toys, like LEGO NXT or simpler ones like Sphero?