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

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.