4 ms·

Not yet. But I think I will when they are old enough.

by rvikmanis 11y ago

serg_chernata 11y ago
Genuinely curious what you would consider "old enough" and how you would determine that.
- alt_f4 11y ago
  You know, first get the basics done. Like being able to use a toilet or operate a fork. Leave programming for the early school years.
- chjohasbrouck 11y ago
  There are some (very private, very exclusive) preschools that start teaching kids C++ at 3 years old. I'm not sure how much success they have, or if it's just a vanity thing, but there you go.
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    C++ makes no sense to me. Considering how much underpinning you need to have to write bad C++ (C, ASM, x86 memory model, basic programming concept, OO concepts, the libraries, etc). A language like BASIC seems much more rational, or some specific educational language (inc. visual programming language). To be frank I'm a little skeptical any pre-school does this (C++) no matter how private or exclusive. Seems like the kids wouldn't even understand what it is they're doing in C++ without years of pre-knowledge. Heck most adult programmers cannot really write C++...
    - chjohasbrouck 11y ago
      Ok, I looked it up and apparently it was an April Fool's Day joke: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149804404/n-y-preschool-starts-dna-testing-for-admission http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149804404/n-y-preschool-starts... I've assumed this was true for the last 3+ years. I'm not sure if I'm gullible, or if they should care more about journalistic standards? It seemed plausible to me because that's about the age I'd start teaching a kid to program. C++ is obviously the wrong choice, but I think a 3-year-old could start learning Python.
      - GoldenMonkey 11y ago
        3 year olds haven't even started pre-school yet. And some 3 year olds barely talk. Some are not even potty trained yet. I'm starting my kids when they are 12. I don't want them glued to the computer screen just yet.
  - lordnacho 11y ago
    How on earth can 3 year old kids do this? You need to know how object oriented concepts work. Heck, you need to know how opening and closing braces work. IMO C++ is the worst first language to learn by quite some distance. It's super complex, with a lot of the complexity being non-obvious (like slicing an object, default allocators, and other things that don't have a big text footprint.) Getting thing to compile can be hard, too. Library issues occur all the time. I would have thought something like Python would make more sense. It more or less just works out of the box, you get a REPL so you can examine things as you code, libraries are easy to import.
  - wslh 11y ago
    Please name one of these schools! I would love to see their "value proposition". Programming on young kids should be fan and with e a minimum friction that can frustrate or stop them from learning. I found ScratchJR and Alice 3D as good ways to start programming together with a parent.

Not yet. But I think I will when they are old enough.

serg_chernata 11y ago

Genuinely curious what you would consider "old enough" and how you would determine that.

alt_f4 11y ago
You know, first get the basics done. Like being able to use a toilet or operate a fork. Leave programming for the early school years.
chjohasbrouck 11y ago
There are some (very private, very exclusive) preschools that start teaching kids C++ at 3 years old. I'm not sure how much success they have, or if it's just a vanity thing, but there you go.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  C++ makes no sense to me. Considering how much underpinning you need to have to write bad C++ (C, ASM, x86 memory model, basic programming concept, OO concepts, the libraries, etc). A language like BASIC seems much more rational, or some specific educational language (inc. visual programming language). To be frank I'm a little skeptical any pre-school does this (C++) no matter how private or exclusive. Seems like the kids wouldn't even understand what it is they're doing in C++ without years of pre-knowledge. Heck most adult programmers cannot really write C++...
  - chjohasbrouck 11y ago
    Ok, I looked it up and apparently it was an April Fool's Day joke: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149804404/n-y-preschool-starts-dna-testing-for-admission http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149804404/n-y-preschool-starts... I've assumed this was true for the last 3+ years. I'm not sure if I'm gullible, or if they should care more about journalistic standards? It seemed plausible to me because that's about the age I'd start teaching a kid to program. C++ is obviously the wrong choice, but I think a 3-year-old could start learning Python.
    - GoldenMonkey 11y ago
      3 year olds haven't even started pre-school yet. And some 3 year olds barely talk. Some are not even potty trained yet. I'm starting my kids when they are 12. I don't want them glued to the computer screen just yet.
- lordnacho 11y ago
  How on earth can 3 year old kids do this? You need to know how object oriented concepts work. Heck, you need to know how opening and closing braces work. IMO C++ is the worst first language to learn by quite some distance. It's super complex, with a lot of the complexity being non-obvious (like slicing an object, default allocators, and other things that don't have a big text footprint.) Getting thing to compile can be hard, too. Library issues occur all the time. I would have thought something like Python would make more sense. It more or less just works out of the box, you get a REPL so you can examine things as you code, libraries are easy to import.
- wslh 11y ago
  Please name one of these schools! I would love to see their "value proposition". Programming on young kids should be fan and with e a minimum friction that can frustrate or stop them from learning. I found ScratchJR and Alice 3D as good ways to start programming together with a parent.