3 ms·

It is premature optimization to push him too much one way such as into app development. It sounds like you just have an inquisitive 8-year-old so help him learn

It is premature optimization to push him too much one way such as into app development. It sounds like you just have an inquisitive 8-year-old so help him learn and grow. He might end up being an amazing bio-physicist, so I like the idea of exposure a lot more than setting him specifically into only programming. Build K'Nex with him. Eat dehydrated ice cream with him and explain why it is often called "astronaut ice cream". Take him to children's museums where he can play with levers and such. Fly a drone with him. Heck, build and program a drone with him. Fix a bike together. Get a VCR for $5, hook it up to a TV but in pieces so he can see the parts move as the image comes on TV. Do the same thing with a DVD player right after that. Build model railroad together. Get ham radio certified. Visit whatever local planetarium / star gazing events are out there. Grab a multimeter and let him measure different things. Take two D batteries and connect them with a piece of steel wool and watch it light on fire. (Ok, maybe not that one...)

Uhhrrr 12y ago
No, definitely do that one! I did as a young'n by brushing 9V contacts against the steel wool and had fun times with negligible burns.
runesoerensen 12y ago
I've never wanted to push him in any particular direction - or push him at all for that matter. That's also why I'm excited he asked about it himself: Becoming a hacker is (and should be) a choice. I mostly asked for mobile apps/games because that's what he is mostly interested in and asked about. It might not be the best way to start though. And you're right, hacking certainly isn't limited to coding, and he can learn from building all kinds of things. I wish I could do that, but we live 5500 miles apart and my time is pretty limited. Luckily for him, his dad already does a good job at building stuff with him :-)

Uhhrrr 12y ago

No, definitely do that one! I did as a young'n by brushing 9V contacts against the steel wool and had fun times with negligible burns.

runesoerensen 12y ago

I've never wanted to push him in any particular direction - or push him at all for that matter. That's also why I'm excited he asked about it himself: Becoming a hacker is (and should be) a choice. I mostly asked for mobile apps/games because that's what he is mostly interested in and asked about. It might not be the best way to start though. And you're right, hacking certainly isn't limited to coding, and he can learn from building all kinds of things. I wish I could do that, but we live 5500 miles apart and my time is pretty limited. Luckily for him, his dad already does a good job at building stuff with him :-)