4 ms·

As a parent, my first question is what did his parents do to foster this and enable it, and can I do it too? I know my kids may not be interested in engineerin

As a parent, my first question is what did his parents do to foster this and enable it, and can I do it too? I know my kids may not be interested in engineering, but I want to at least give them the chance. And I suspect whatever his parents did is applicable to other interests too.

skapadia 4y ago
If I had to guess, they probably let him try whatever he wants, without that knee-jerk impulse of saying "that's crazy, no way!" or "stop what you're doing and clean your room" or "you're always in the garage. go out and play, or get a part time job". Now it's possible he's able to do this because his parents can afford to let him spend time on this, but still. It's really easy as a parent to just say "no", but much harder to put your own prejudices and assumptions aside and say "yes". My daughter is 10yo and spends hours in her room drawing, painting, and making miniatures of everything out of cardboard, paper, and whatever scraps are around. She hoards all that stuff. So many times I say, no let's throw that away or you're spending too much time on art. Her best creations are when we leave her completely alone. I recognize my own hypocrisy, because I'm a far better developer when there are few meetings - when I'm left alone.
- Foobar8568 4y ago
  Oh god I can related to this with my daughter. Our flat is an open garbage thanks to her hoarding of scraps, paper scraps, parcel cardboards etc.
wyre 4y ago
I’m not a parent, but I had a less-than-supportive teenagehood. I think an unconditional support of your child’s interests and growth will go a long way. Be a yes man/say no as little as you can. I imagine this kids parents provided a lot of financial support from his parents too. "Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their children than the unlived life of the parent." — Carl Jung Good luck! I wish you the best!

skapadia 4y ago

If I had to guess, they probably let him try whatever he wants, without that knee-jerk impulse of saying "that's crazy, no way!" or "stop what you're doing and clean your room" or "you're always in the garage. go out and play, or get a part time job". Now it's possible he's able to do this because his parents can afford to let him spend time on this, but still. It's really easy as a parent to just say "no", but much harder to put your own prejudices and assumptions aside and say "yes". My daughter is 10yo and spends hours in her room drawing, painting, and making miniatures of everything out of cardboard, paper, and whatever scraps are around. She hoards all that stuff. So many times I say, no let's throw that away or you're spending too much time on art. Her best creations are when we leave her completely alone. I recognize my own hypocrisy, because I'm a far better developer when there are few meetings - when I'm left alone.

Foobar8568 4y ago
Oh god I can related to this with my daughter. Our flat is an open garbage thanks to her hoarding of scraps, paper scraps, parcel cardboards etc.

wyre 4y ago

I’m not a parent, but I had a less-than-supportive teenagehood. I think an unconditional support of your child’s interests and growth will go a long way. Be a yes man/say no as little as you can. I imagine this kids parents provided a lot of financial support from his parents too. "Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their children than the unlived life of the parent." — Carl Jung Good luck! I wish you the best!