Girls and Software
>Parents are warned to keep kids off the computer<p>This point cannot be overstated. I'd <i>never</i> have been a hacker without vast quantities of unsupervised, unfiltered internet time around age 9-12.<p>The largest enabling step for me was when I got my own laptop which I was free to break (software-wise) and free to take into my room so I could focus away from the distracting noises of the kitchen/living room.<p>Much of even the HN community would consider this irresponsible parenting. Probably even my parents wouldn't have let a <i>daughter</i> talk to strangers on IRC about something they don't understand. But how else is someone with nontechnical parents supposed to get started?<p>It's <i>sooo</i> much different when it's something you choose to do with your free time, rather than something half-assedly forced on you by parents or school curriculum. Especially to a kid.