I hope I don't fuck this part up if I have kids of my own.
The hard part is the "thing to learn" may not be computers and programming, it may be something entirely new. That's why your elders seem like they were out of touch- tech was so new and all. It looks like a great choice from 2012, but from 1990 it was more of an unknown, and there will be similar developments in the future in other fields that challenge new parents to allow their kids to explore fledgeling prospects.
Hmm, not sure I believe that. I think anyone with any foresight in 1990 realized that computing was going to change the world. They may not have realized the scale, or the details of it though. I think those of us who's parents acted on that are really blessed with the jumpart we got on the world to come
Yeah, that's my takeaway, too. Offer up a variety of things to try, but encourage whatever they happen to be passionate about, not what I'm passionate about. (and know when I'm out of my depth)
The hard part is the "thing to learn" may not be computers and programming, it may be something entirely new. That's why your elders seem like they were out of touch- tech was so new and all. It looks like a great choice from 2012, but from 1990 it was more of an unknown, and there will be similar developments in the future in other fields that challenge new parents to allow their kids to explore fledgeling prospects.