For The Kids: What should I have my son do?

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Look At Me NOW!
Jun 30, 2011
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Midwest
I have been trying to think of something to teach my son to do online. He will be 10 in April. Right now, we are homeschooling him and I have been trying to come up with things to have him make some money learn how to use computers overall.

Some things I have come up with -

1. Giving him like a $500 ad spend and walking him through the process of PPC. I would of course not let him do anything really stupid and any profit he makes is his.

2. Having him build his computer. I would help him buy the parts and set up some of it but would generally walk him through the whole process and have him do it.

3. Have him setup some sort of website eCommerce type thing that he can update and do stuff on, on a regular basis.

4. Youtube channel - would have to think if the angle we would go for it and help him with it.


Anyone else have any other ideas. What I could maybe do?
Any success on things you have done?
Any resources to teach kids programs like photoshop, php, C# and so on?
 
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I'd say definitely not #1 and #4 to start. Have him build either a site and/or a computer, get the basics down.
 
I have been trying to think of something to teach my son to do online. He will be 10 in April. Right now, we are homeschooling him

... start with camtasia, kids dig making flashy videos and that's an easy to use script that will provide a solid foundation for lots of visual apps.

Also, don't plan his life or nudge him into what you are, let him make his own mistakes and get hungry before serious.
 
At that age self exploration and independent learning are very important. I would ask him if he is interested in setting up a website, and asking him what type of website he would like to start. Let him go from there and have his imagination run wild.


Also, don't plan his life or nudge him into what you are, let him make his own mistakes and get hungry before serious.
And this.
 
#1 for sure. I can't imagine where I'd be in my career if I had begun my marketing education at the age of 10!

Also, be sure to get him some classic marketing books (e.g. Tested Advertising Methods, Breakthrough Advertising) and get him immersed into the biz. By the time he's in his late teen's he'll be writing his own checks!
 
#1 for sure. I can't imagine where I'd be in my career if I had begun my marketing education at the age of 10!

Also, be sure to get him some classic marketing books (e.g. Tested Advertising Methods, Breakthrough Advertising) and get him immersed into the biz. By the time he's in his late teen's he'll be writing his own checks!

I think this is a rather selfish thing to do as a parent.

Imagine if your parents made a ton of money in the oil business and then sat you down and tried to force all sorts of stuff about how the oil business works when (at 10 years old) all you wanted to do was have some fun or build a website.

Don't live through your kids. Don't try to make your kids into copies of you. Let your kids be who they want to be, and as a parent you help them achieve whatever that is.

And I also think this will have the opposite effect. By forcing your kid down a path like this at a young age they didn't learn for themselves and are just doing whatever you tell them. That's a terrible way for a kid to grow into an entrepreneur or an independently thinking individual (assuming those are traits that you think are good).


At Carnegie Mellon I talked to a lot of people who were in engineering because their parents were engineers and thought it was the best way to be successful. They hated it, and lived rather miserable lives. But their parents had ingrained into their head at such a young age what they should be doing and they just quietly and miserably did what they were told they should be doing to succeed in life.
 
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building something

the best way for a young person to be able to brainstorm innovative ideas is if they understand how things are built.
 
Also, don't plan his life or nudge him into what you are

Agree with first part but not second part. Nudging/guiding is what parents are here to do (after insuring offspring has basic needs met of course) As it is, society is "nudging" your child to not be independent, not think for himself and get a 9-5 job (if you're lucky to find one) to become another gear in the system. So I think it's almost negligent to be apart of something else (something you probably think is better) and not at least expose him to this and guide him along the way. Just be alert to his interests, if you've tried everything above and he shows no interest then move on.


Good thread, I have a 10 year old too and will keep a watch on this one. One thing to consider is, maybe you can loop this stuff back into his school and/or personal life somehow. Maybe set up a website for a school project? Like mine has a GT project coming up with regards to social consciousness issues where he needs to not only research and report on the issue but come up with ways that he personally can make a difference. He could easily set up a website incorporating all of that.
 
You make your son WRITE. Make him learn design basics, what makes a website good or bad (ease of access/load speed).

Don't get into anything too technical, but do show him HTML turning into a visible page. That shit is magic and he WILL try to replicate it.

Teaching basic online etiquette is always a nice place to start.

Learning how to make and edit videos will be huge as they're gaining more and more value/weight.

The physical building of a computer is the 21st century building of your own car/motorcycle. Not many shops you can go to mess around at, and everything's so expensive, but building your own rig is always cool to smart kids who like technology.

These skills will eventually allow him to provide functions for his dumb peers.

ECommerce will only destroy his spirits
 
Have him come up with a project he wants to undertake with clearly defined goals.

Give him 250$ for 50 fiverr gigs(people interaction, outsource potential) and 250$ for PPC(raw results/experience with analytics and data).

Rich dad poor dad // Richest man in babylon as easy/motivational reading.
 
Whatever one he's most interested in really. #2 (building a computer) would be a great first step because it's a useful thing to know about in almost every field.

Like others have said, let him follow what he's interested in. If he doesn't care about websites but loves cars, let him learn about that instead. My dad was a mechanic but I don't give a shit about cars so he never forced me to learn about them, he let me work on computers and do what I wanted to do as long as it was enriching. If my son wants to learn about marine biology instead I'd let him do his thing too, you can't get too serious about their career choices until they are at least in their teens and have a good idea about their direction, if you shove it down their throat they'll just be spiteful.

However, the online world has a lot of options and you can use it to build on his existing interests. Let's assume that it's cars again, you can teach him the process of making a blog about cars from scratch (with WordPress, maybe teach him a little about HTML first) and he can have an outlet for his interests/hobbies while learning about the online world and how to operate a website at the same time. He can make it about anything he wants, even video games or comics or whatever kids are into these days. As he builds his blog and learns more about what makes a good website, you can get into more advanced topics.
 
Don't make him do anything. Encourage him to explore EVERYTHING, and then be with him and help him whilst he learns more about what really interests him.

As another poster said, self-directed learning is hugely important, and it's something that will give him a huge advantage compared to kids in school (where it's not taught at all).
 
Ask him what he finds interesting first. Then look into it. For all you know it may prompt itself one day when you're ordering 500 social bookmarks and he goes "I don't understand how they could do that much work for 5 dollars". Who knows where that'd end.
 
When I was 7, my dad taught me some basic BASIC. I had no fuckin idea what was going on, but it looked cool. Like programming a ball that bounces off the walls. The ability to make "games" by putting in some random characters was the closest thing to magic.

Im not a lot into programming but its the single most valuable skill ive ever learned. Getting into it at that age set a foundation. Makes it easier to connect to it when I have to. Like learning a normal language.

Im not much into programming and I rather not do it but I have that skill. Has helped so much.

You should really consider that.
 
I think critical thinking is one of the most valuable skills, not just for marketers, but for anyone. I watch commercials with my girlfriend's kids (7 and 14), and we talk about the ads afterwards.

"What are they selling"

"What did you like about the ad"

"What didn't you like about the ad"

etc. etc.

It gives them a window into the business of persuasion without being heavy handed, and I get something out of it as well.
 
Start from the begging. Build a computer, then use that computer to make something online. See which part of the process he enjoys more.
My kid is 3 and I'm already thinking its time to build a computer (he uses touch screen phones and pads better then most adults, lol). They pick up on technology so fast its crazy.