Hacker News Reader

Comment by pvorb | Hacker News Reader

You mean like trying to get your kid into programming, which is a bit more common around here?

Teaching your kid to write computer programs is not the same thing as forcing them into a career as a developer. Whenever I hear people equate the two, I like to remind them that it wasn't that long ago that if you wanted to write a letter, you had to go to someone who knew how to write and dictate.

Lots of non-technical jobs require you to sit at a computer all day. Why do you think they teach typing in school now? The ability to automate your tasks is a superpower that I would love my children to have regardless of what they do. I personally have had jobs that could probably be automated by a python script, although what I was doing them at the time I didn't know how python.

Besides professional reasons, basic programming skills can be the gateway to any number of hobbies. I build things for myself all the time and because it's a creative thing, and programs can be written to aid in creating artwork music, or even to generate these things completely from the software.

Most schools have art and music programs. They may even be a mandatory part of the curriculum. Because we recognize that there are benefits to learning these skills even though the majority of students will not go on to do these things professionally. Programming is the exact same thing.

TBH in that case, in HN, it's clearly not the unfulfilled dream bit. More like people see that programming is a dream job for them and want their kids to have the same opportunity.

I think it's fine to try to get your child into anything you like. But listen to them. Sometimes pushback is just childlike short-sightedness, but other times it's genuine and should be listened to.

I don't think it's the same thing. My parents signed me up for English classes when I was very young. They made me go twice a week, even when I was tired of school already. It sucked, some times, but it was just two hours a week and it was far from making me miserable or anything like that. It has actually proved to be an extremely valuable skill in my adult life.

It's different to make a kid take piano lessons than to force them to practice every day because you've decided their career should be piano virtuoso. I think it's the same with programming, it can be a very useful skill, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to teach it to your kids as long as you don't force them or make them miserable.

I came from a family of musicians and so my parents wanted me to learn an instrument from a young age, and yes they did force me to practice every day.

In the end, I learned a skill that has given me a lot of enjoyment in my adult life. Personally, the end was worth the means.

Kids spend a lot of time being forced to learn things in school. I didn’t perceive having to practice an instrument each day as worse than having to attend PE class.

Are there counter-examples? As a kid in that sphere I met many other kids who were very good at music. I never met any who hated playing music but I did meet many who were not that interested in the classical music they were playing. Many played other kinds of music in their “free time”.

I’d say it’s fine to teach your kid to be a piano virtuoso, as long as it’s the piano and not (say) the violin or cello, because cello virtuoso is a non-transferable skill, whereas piano can be transferred to whatever genre they eventually end up liking.

There is quite a gap between stimulating children to see if that is something they could enjoy and excel in, and going all overboard and making it the centre of their young lives.

You’re not living vicariously through your child if they are just doing the same thing you do for a day job.

Not really. Two actors have more roles and more success than one actor, self-realization tends to be additive and never enough.

Trying to share your interest with a kid is not abuse. It's fine even to try multiple times, because children's interests can change throught development. That's very very different from projecting and seeing children as an extension of the parent instead of individuals, which is a form of abuse.

Precisely! I always get an eerie feeling seeing threads like "How to get my 4yo into programming?" reach the top of HN.

I've personally chosen to ignore those posts. I say this as a guy who only got into programming when I was 20-21 years of age, and even though at the beginning I felt like an impostor, 20 years after the fact I can say that it was all for the better that my teenager years were spent on stuff that was not related to programming, it gave me (and it still gives me) a much broader perspective on the world.

My mom was a programmer (in the 90s) and they never thought this is the way to make a living. But they saw my interest in programming and went along with it, taking me to classes and buying a PC. It turned out spectacularly good for me, obviously.

I think there's a difference between trying to show your kid something you think they might find interesting, and pushing them into it.

You should absolutely teach your kid skills, that’s the meaning of education is it not? That’s different from forcing them to work, the difference is the involvement of money.

Ohh, that hit a nerve apparently.

Hats off to you, this was very interesting.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com