Ask HN: How are parents who program teaching their kids today?

Father of two here. I started coding in BASIC when I was 8 and fell in love with computers. It evolved into a passion for building products, and it has been my life's career.

My son is showing interest in programming, mostly because, like other kids, he wants to make games. That's what got me started, too :) We've been working with Scratch and GameMaker, and I’ve been focusing on fundamentals like logic, structure, and problem-solving.

It's really about getting him experience breaking problems down so he can solve bigger problems. E.g., before the hero can shoot an arrow to defeat the bad guy, we need to be able to create arrows, move them, know their position, and know when they hit the bad guy. He gets it.

That said, I wonder whether focusing on CS fundamentals is worth it. Knowing fundamentals is always useful, but learning to collaborate with an AI is probably the more important long-term skill.

What are other parents doing? Have you found a balance? What tools are you using?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44152012

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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44152012