I find easier to write commands in logo (forward 10) than to write commands in a graphical way. My cousin played adventure games at 4 with the help of a paper with commands that he typed.
I agree with you somewhat. Turing machines are difficult to abstract into sensible 'commands' or functions without some kind of compiler or intermediate step. The trouble here is that kids get no exposure to abstraction and functions, which I'd argue is more important and fundamental than conditionals and loops, which are really just specialized functions at heart.