Without passing judgement on the value of the approach, I'd caution against taking to much away from those method, considering the sample bias of the forum here

Without passing judgement on the value of the approach, I'd caution against taking to much away from those method, considering the sample bias of the forum here. I can't help but think the relevant distinction between leading paths of easing your kids into computers with a bash shell vs. hanging them an iPad and a Chromebook might have more to do with the manner and knowledge of the person they turn to when they have questions. The OP's kid asked "what does install mean?" Does it really matter whether he was trying to install htop, ncdu, Zoom, Roblox, or TikTok? Or does it matter more the positive affect of the OP's response and the deep well of knowledge and understanding that he could pull from in formulating an answer? A busy mostly tech-illiterate parent may interpret that question as a "how" question and simply respond, "go to the app store - that's the blue button with the weird 'A' - open it and type R O B L O X. Let me know if you still can't get it." that's not the answer to the question and offers no opportunity for follow on questions, but if you don't really know yourself, you can't really answer.