I have a couple of ideas: first, have your parents buy you a programming tutor. This will validate your time and actually might benefit you a lot (if you find t

I have a couple of ideas: first, have your parents buy you a programming tutor. This will validate your time and actually might benefit you a lot (if you find the right one). Second, read some biographies of famous programmers and entrepreneurs. You'll probably enjoy that and you might be able to show your parents that you're doing something that other successful people do. Next, find some way to compete or have your skills verified. Enter hackathons, for instance. And like many commenters have said, make something and show them. Are you a toddler playing with dry pasta all day? That's not good. Are you making macaroni necklaces for mom? She'd like that. Also, as a software engineer I don't even think about "hours spent on the computer". If you are serious about computers, eliminate that thought from your brain. It's a tool as indispensable to me as a pen would have been to a writer. I work on it as much as I need to. Some weeks that's 0 hours, some weeks that's 100. Also, remember this struggle and write about it for your college essay. Good stuff.