4 ms·

I'm waiting till he shows significant interest. If that never comes then I'm not going to try to make it happen. Much as I would like to be teaching programmi

I'm waiting till he shows significant interest. If that never comes then I'm not going to try to make it happen. Much as I would like to be teaching programming to my kids, if they aren't that interested then such is life.

rimliu 9y ago
I am so happy that your comment exists. The "I love what I do so my kid must too" is not a good attitude to have, even for coding.
tchaffee 9y ago
You don't see it as an essential skill like other branches of math that he should at least be exposed to? Most kids never show an interest in algebra without someone first introducing then to the basics.
catcontent 9y ago
yes! the most important lesson from neurostudies and psychology is usually ignored: you can only learn when [feel like] you have control over how to do it. learning simply does not work when you push it. pushing will kill motivation. I usually only need to get obstacles out of the way and answer questions (if I can). the rest comes from sheer interest from my child. scratch was interesting for just a couple of weeks, now it is java script, raspberry pi / linux, arduino, smartphone app programming using appinventor or any scripting language. the issue is not programming language, the driving question is "what machine do I want to build". you might want to check out "coderdojo" at a place near you. usually other kids are better teachers to your kid than you are. your best instrument to teach tech is to wait and take your kid's questions seriously. patience pays. what age am I talking about? my child wrote programs and apps long before he was able to read or write. pushing as a motivation killer also applies to adults. so I guess, this "advice" is universal.
tudorw 9y ago
I've loved programming since I discovered it, while I'd love my daughter to share my passion I've been reading around and largely agree with this point, particularly poignant was a tennis forum, swathes of warning that if you want your child to love tennis, let them discover it themselves, also anecdotal but my friend tried to enforce a love of disco, that's not worked out to well either...

rimliu 9y ago

I am so happy that your comment exists. The "I love what I do so my kid must too" is not a good attitude to have, even for coding.

tchaffee 9y ago

You don't see it as an essential skill like other branches of math that he should at least be exposed to? Most kids never show an interest in algebra without someone first introducing then to the basics.

catcontent 9y ago

yes! the most important lesson from neurostudies and psychology is usually ignored: you can only learn when [feel like] you have control over how to do it. learning simply does not work when you push it. pushing will kill motivation. I usually only need to get obstacles out of the way and answer questions (if I can). the rest comes from sheer interest from my child. scratch was interesting for just a couple of weeks, now it is java script, raspberry pi / linux, arduino, smartphone app programming using appinventor or any scripting language. the issue is not programming language, the driving question is "what machine do I want to build". you might want to check out "coderdojo" at a place near you. usually other kids are better teachers to your kid than you are. your best instrument to teach tech is to wait and take your kid's questions seriously. patience pays. what age am I talking about? my child wrote programs and apps long before he was able to read or write. pushing as a motivation killer also applies to adults. so I guess, this "advice" is universal.

tudorw 9y ago

I've loved programming since I discovered it, while I'd love my daughter to share my passion I've been reading around and largely agree with this point, particularly poignant was a tennis forum, swathes of warning that if you want your child to love tennis, let them discover it themselves, also anecdotal but my friend tried to enforce a love of disco, that's not worked out to well either...