What I don't recommend is going through programming exercises on the web, which seems to be a popular path that usually ends in stall-out. Whether young or old

What I don't recommend is going through programming exercises on the web, which seems to be a popular path that usually ends in stall-out. Whether young or old, I think it's important that the person start by asking themselves what they would like a computer to do for them. From there, you can start to bite off small pieces of the challenge, slowly making progress towards something they actually care about.