[GiraffeNecktie]

I would just forget about computers and programming completely and focus on the building blocks by a playful approach to solving day-to-day problems with logic and reasoning. Like how do we decide which things belong together? You can also play progressively more complicated iteration games like for-each-time-this-happens-let's-do-this-this-and-this! Or make complicated rube goldberg devices out of household objects and then debug why they don't work.

Computers would be just a distraction from the real work of building a foundation in cognitive skills.

[potatolicious]

This. Your child may or may not work in IT in the future - IMHO it'd be unwise to steer him/her down a particular career path so early.

What your child will need regardless of where he/she goes is critical thinking and problem solving skills. After all, all the desirable jobs in the world center around this.

Strong associative ability, strong spatial skills, organization, learning attitude, critical thinking, logic, all of those things you should encourage in your kid. Particularly learning attitude - if your child starts hating learning, you're basically screwed.

[silvestrov]

Learning how to think is much more helpful than any programming language introduction. When you have learned to think and investigate stuff, then programming comes naturally.

Richard Feynman's father spent a lot of time teaching his son how to think and what thinking is. That was more important to Feynman than any mathematical lessons his father could teach him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=695Flhmjmg4#t=2m56s

Parents need to keep an eye out for what kind of person their kids are. They might not be a carbon-copy of yourself, they might have completely different interests and abilities and learning styles.    I did, very much so.    Many parents erroneously assumes that their kids are like themselves because "it is their kids", their genes, their upbringing. But neither genes or kids work like copy machines when it comes to personality.

[sayemm]

Thanks for posting that clip of Richard Feynman, pretty cool - solid response too.

[mbubb]

Nice.

[Travis]

Not to discourage computer use, but I'd like to second the importance of the playful aspect.

Our innate playfulness seems to be beneficial to creative processes. At the very least, it makes learning more fun, engaging.

My dad used to hide notecards around the house, with a little clue ("turn around 90 degrees and walk 2 * 3 - 1 steps"). At the location specified, there'd be another little candy and a clue. Worked wonders for me, and it gave me a lifelong desire to learn and grow.

Anyhow, just a +1 for keeping it playful. It helps a ton. And it just might make your child more creative.

[bmj]

I agree. Open-ended play is very important, I think. Give him stuff to build things that don't require instructions or guidance (or, at least much guidance). I am routinely amazed at what my kids build with tinker toys and blocks...

[b_emery]

Totally agree. I did some of my earliest engineering work at 10 yrs old with Legos. Now I use code, but it's still very much about how things go together.

[KoZeN]

Logic & reason are the foundation for almost everything we are hoping to teach him but as far as technology is concerned we really want to encourage him to understand how things work as well as how to use them so I suppose that is what drove me to seek the opinion of the HN collective.

[BCGC]

logic and reason and empathy. What use is of logic and reasoning if he turns out to be Hilter (or a female version...)