just my thoughts on the subject. i'm 15, and whilst i am in no way a prodigy or genius, i've been programming from a quite early age.
all i can suggest is that firstly you don't force the kid to learn. if they want to, they will. if they don't want to, they won't. by all means encourage, but don't force. give praise where it's due, but above all don't make him/her think that they're "better" than other people. that kind of attitude is one that you should try your upmost to discourage - he or she is no "better" than anyone else, and if they remember that it'll help; a little humility and modesty goes a long way.
a lot of people have suggested sports... that's fine, but again some kids get into sport and some don't. forcing him/her to play team sports can do as much damage as forcing him to learn assembly language. on the other hand maths is a great idea, as it'll help him/her with any programming he ever tries. teach a kid Java now and it's perfectly possible they will never use it. teach maths and it'll give them the foundation to do whatever he/she wants.
Slashdot Mirror
hi,
just my thoughts on the subject. i'm 15, and whilst i am in no way a prodigy or genius, i've been programming from a quite early age.
all i can suggest is that firstly you don't force the kid to learn. if they want to, they will. if they don't want to, they won't. by all means encourage, but don't force. give praise where it's due, but above all don't make him/her think that they're "better" than other people. that kind of attitude is one that you should try your upmost to discourage - he or she is no "better" than anyone else, and if they remember that it'll help; a little humility and modesty goes a long way.
a lot of people have suggested sports... that's fine, but again some kids get into sport and some don't. forcing him/her to play team sports can do as much damage as forcing him to learn assembly language. on the other hand maths is a great idea, as it'll help him/her with any programming he ever tries. teach a kid Java now and it's perfectly possible they will never use it. teach maths and it'll give them the foundation to do whatever he/she wants.