Ask HN: Please share your experience teaching your kids to program
Didn&#x27;t work:<p><pre><code>  - BASIC, Ruby, Python, Java setups + intros, tutorials.
  - LEGO Mindstorms
  - Scratch, Squeak
  - Coding classes &#x2F; camps
</code></pre>
Note that I &quot;made these things &quot;available&quot; but never pushed.  I&#x27;d set up the environment, show him to to edit and run the code, and pointed him to tutorials. After some time went by I&#x27;d show him the next thing. Rinse and repeat.<p>Worked:<p>A Texas Instruments programmable calculator. He read the manual, played with it a bit, then found out he could automate some of his homework. Then found out he could make simple games. Then fairly impressive games.<p>After that, he did a bunch of Minecraft programming and loved it.<p>Fast forward a decade and he smokes through Advent of Code without breaking a sweat, and is a co-founder and CTO.<p>I.e. all my efforts to pique interest didn&#x27;t have any effect that I could see. He had to find his own way to it.