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I introduced both of my children to arduino at age 7. My son took to it instantly and in weeks was producing things that surprised me. My daughter could not hav
by noonespecial 13y ago
I introduced both of my children to arduino at age 7. My son took to it instantly and in weeks was producing things that surprised me. My daughter could not have been less interested; struggled through to few things I showed her forgot it as soon as the lesson was over.
This is how it stayed until the day some random project of my son's involved placing a servo inside a small stuffed toy. The moment my daughter saw the little toy turn and "look" at her, there was nothing in the world that could stop her from trying to learn how to do this herself.
You can't teach your child to code, only present it in a way that will interest them. If you succeed you will not be able to stop them. No one else will be able to either.
“I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.”
― Stanley Kubrick
- alexcroox 13y agoCorrect. When I was younger my interest in coding started when I downloaded some VB app that opened my CD drive and popped up a scary picture. I sat there and thought, I want to know how to do this...
- analog31 13y agoIt may be that for some younger kids, the idea of the computer "doing" something seems more meaningful if the computer is doing something physical.
- ams6110 13y agoOr not. One of the things you learn as your kids grow up is that they are not carbon copies of you. They may be interested in the same things you are, or they may not be. I'm in no way trying to disuade anyone from trying to get their kids interested in programming or technology, but if they are not, at a point you have to be willing to admit that they are not.
- dagney 13y agoCouldn't agree more. Show them something really cool they can make on their own and curiosity does the rest. Robotics, TV, a mobile app, physics, whatever moves their world at this point will do.