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I decided to write down what it's like to be a _real dev_.
I decided to focus on starting with HTML, JS, CSS.
Both my sons have been reading them -- even though dev is not their direct line of work.
It makes sense to me to start there because it is the low barrier to entry -- I know. That's and bad. 
Anyways, I wrote the Launch Your Dev Career[^] Series (two volumes so far).
Here are links to each individual book if you are interested.
Launch Your Dev Career: Volume 1[^]
Amazon.com: Learn HTML5, CSS, JavaScript: Launch Your Dev Career (Volume 2)[^]
If you really want to read them and cannot afford the $2.99 I will send you a free PDF of either or both. Just message me or reply here.
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Had him watch the documentary: Indie about what they went through working for big game developer companies and working on their own, and the burn out rate. like most teenagers he didn't think that would happen to him, he's slowly shifted focus onto other careers (not programing) but still dabbles with building games with some friends.
I just didn't want to see him burned out by the time he was 30 without a possible secondary career. Normal development for apps and other tech just does not interest him, and wants nothing to do with it.
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When I was a kid I taught several kids to program, some of whom went on to become developers.
I don't have any kids of my own, and I have a 3yo nephew so he's not quite ready yet.
I have a couple of nieces too but it's not their bag, and we don't live close.
Right now my nephew likes dinosaurs. I think that's requisite for being 3.
Real programmers use butterflies
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My mate's kid used to crawl under the table, up onto the chair, bash the keyboard and shout f*** f*** f***.
Pete Lomax
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Give them a mug of coffee and they'll fit right in. 
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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I live in a condo complex with few kids and don't interact with them at all. If I did, I would encourage them to be moral and honest first. Vocation would depend on their apparent skills and I would encourage them in the direction they were best suited to go.
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My company organised Take Your Kid To Work Day, and it did not go so well when it was my kid's turn.
At other times, my division had done exciting tours and shown off manufacturing equipment and processes, but in my new division they took the group of grade 9s into a stultifying management planning meeting for a couple of hours.
The kids came out vowing to avoid anything resembling software development.
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I encouraged my sons to try programming to see if they like it. Their coursework in college required some programming (chemical engineer and paper science engineer), so they did some, but neither wanted programming as a career. Neither is a fit for it, and both are happy and successful in their chosen careers.
Encouraging kids to try programming is a good idea -- it can give them a bit more understanding about how things work. But regardless of the garbage politicians spout, most people cannot become good programmers. It requires a specific mindset most don't have. Which is normal -- being a good lawyer or a plumber requires a mindset most don't have, either.
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I read somewhere that developers use the general processing part of their brain, more than the language or math sections. I always wondered if that what makes a decent developer: people with a very active general processing sections. Where I am very dyslexic, but took to development like a fish to water.
I think some peoples brains are wired in a way that make them ideal for certain careers, but you can never tell until you try it out and either something clicks or it doesn't.
BryanFazekas wrote: Encouraging kids to try programming is a good idea -- it can give them a bit more understanding about how things work.
totally agree with your statement
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My wife and children are agriculturalists - that's right, their interest is in agriculture. To be specific, ranchers who raise livestock. (I know that for some of you, that makes me a laughingstock. )
There is no way that they would be happy in a job that ties them to a desk. Each of them holds at least one college degree and is working on more, but their real love is working out-of-doors, caring for the animals.
Believe me when I say the work is hard and demanding. The day starts early and is over when the work for the day is done, not when the clock says 5PM. The commute is real short, however. Just open the door and step outside and you are "at work."
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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one of my jobs, we developed monitoring equipment (on the side) with embedded sensors to help farmers understand their crops better, same thing could be done for livestock: water sensors for PH, and level (could make estimates on water consumption and such), lighting, temperature controls/monitoring when it gets too cold (like phone alerts). I'll admit I don't know the livestock business that in-depth (more on the fruit and produce side), but a couple of Arduino's or Pies with sensors feeding information back could be handy, and be fun to build.
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I know that the technology is available and much of it works great. There are some problems in areas with very limited broadband access. Moving data between devices often relies on "sneakernet" because sending direct requires driving the equipment back to the house and in range of the wifi router.
My problem is interest. They are just not interested in how these devices work — they just want them to work.
I have been trying to get them to set up a web site for several years. I am even willing to help them. Their response is zero interest. Even pushing the idea that they would be able to make more money selling "over the gate" than at the local farmer's market or livestock auction.
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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I can see that, you have to have some sort of interest to want to learn something. I don't care for chatbots, Home assistant AI's, or the latest tech so I don't tend to learn them, but give me a breadboard and some programmable chips and I'll be all over that.
To each their own.
also I've never used wifi or ethernet when working with embedded stuff in the past, it was all serial (485/422/232) or IR, the environments we had the equipment in usually so far out in the country had no internet or networks available (maybe dialup if we were lucky) and sometimes they had way too much electrical noise (high voltage) for wifi to be stable.
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where do I get those books? I got a colleague that I want to sneak those on to his book shelf
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Yes, if someone wants to know more or needs help, I'll try my best to help but I'm not going to encourage their career decisions one way or another. It's not my choice to make but theirs. 
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Exactly my point
Not encourage my path, but help them as much as possible once they decide their own.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Exactly. If my daughter had expressed an interest, I would have encouraged her and helped if I could. She likes what she does, and that's what's important.
Software Zen: delete this;
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. . . and became lawyers. Not all, but most.
All of them make twice what I do (or more).
Interestingly, though, a daughter and son-in-law both do what I've really never done: currently work for a software company (one of those is 'big box'-ish).
"And so it goes." - Kurt Vonnegut
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Not yet, but I will / would, if they show interest.
1) They are too young right now
2) I don't want to force anything
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: They are too young right now
In my observations, only a very small sub-set of kids take a natural interest in coding, etc. For all others, I feel they need to be much older before introduced and even then, there will be a natural rejection by most.
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Exactly...
my older one comes sometimes and asks what I am doing... I try to explain it in a way that I hope she understands, makes some questions... once the curiosity is satisfied, shes loses the interest and I let her go.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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That's my observation as well.
It's interesting that I can remember the first time I showed interest in coding. I had actually written code in an MSX before I was 10 years old (too much of a vague memory to determine my age precisely).
I remember a funny detail about this. The MSX came with (or my parents bought them) with several educational booklets. I remember following one of them. I wrote several pages worth of code, but the program didn't work. When my dad tried to help me find out the problem, we discovered that I had not taken into account that I needed to push enter after every statement written.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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My first contact with a pc was to play "panic in the express" in a spectrum 128k.
After that I started trying on my own, and a couple of years later I had to help my eldest brother to install and get running the Windows 3.11 in a Pentium II @250Hz so he could make stuff from college... 
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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