4 ms·

Forget about imposing certain languages on kids; I question the practice of trying to get kids into programming. Why not let kids get into programming through

• mryall 16y ago
  All kids are different. Some will eagerly jump into new things, others need some gentle prodding from their parents to get started. Even curious kids sometimes need a suggestion for what to play with on a rainy day.
• minus1 16y ago
  I think it's important to expose kids to programming, and if they show an interest, to explore it further. It's possible I never would have become a coder if a teacher hadn't given me a brief intro to Basic when I was 11 years old. I took it from there, and was self-taught until college. With my own son, I introduced him to Scratch, helped him through a few lessons, and then watched as it became his favorite thing to do. I really can't say enough about Scratch as an introduction to programming. It gives kids a simple environment where they see quick results while learning the basics. Just as important, there is a social aspect in that they can easily share their programs with their friends. There does, however, seem to be a need to bridge the gap between Scratch and traditional languages.