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

My son started a gaming site since that's what he is into. He basically forces his clans there to do stuff, and pockets the money that comes in.

He's bought his own xbox, his own computer, and a lot of games.


He was about 10 when he started, it wasn't centered around clans then since he didn't really play those kinds of games then, but it's evolved as he got older.

BUT....

I would get him a few basic php books, html for dummies kind of thing. He starts programming now, he'll be a god by the time he's in his young 20's :)
 


I would start by teaching him to code. There are many resources online that'll teach him the basics and step him through the logic etc. I wouldn't bother spending much time teaching him how to build a computer; it's not 1998. It's no more difficult a skill than changing a tyre.

Also the youtube, camtasia thing is a good idea. Creating videos etc is a creative process and if you do a search on youtube, you can find lots of kids doing stuff like that.

I don't have kids but if I had a 10 year old son, I'd be encouraging him to do things out of passion and not for money. Let them worry about that shit when they're old enough. They need to understand the value of a dollar but a 10 year old doesn't need to be pushed towards doing things with the intention of making money. Pushing a 10 year old kid to begin his marketing career at age 10 is beyond stupid.
 
TBH, I wouldn't be teaching marketing/advertising yet, I'd introduce him to either web design or programming. Online marketing changes so much and is pretty easy to pick up, however the principles he learns in programming would be useful today and in 5 years imo.
 
A few things:

1. Kids don't like being pressured or pushed into something. They may do it but never really have a passion for it, hence giving it up later in life (even if it could make them rich).

2. You need to find something that sparks an interest. A topic. He's 10 and really has no need to make money yet. Start now with simple stuff. Definitely get him to build his own computer if he's interested in that idea. Aside from that I would have him learn the basics of html and css. Maybe go through designs on crowd sites asking him what he sees wrong with the design or something to build his design skills and instinct. Teach him how to get things outsourced, how to turn his visions into something functional and marketable. Getting him on the road to outsourcing is very important and I would put the $500 there to give him a nice fund to work with. Once he has something built that is marketable, you can decide if you want to give him more money for PPC or organic SEO (links, etc).

3. Kids today are completely different than when we grew up. Kids grow up now with smartphones, ipads, iphones, etc... Just make sure your kid is confident, communicates well and is independent; that will help him more through life than anything else.
 
Yaxxx said:
TBH, I wouldn't be teaching marketing/advertising yet, I'd introduce him to either web design or programming. Online marketing changes so much and is pretty easy to pick up, however the principles he learns in programming would be useful today and in 5 years imo.
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What I was gonna post.

Teach him programming or making web sites, let him create, the mindless advertising $$$ bullshit can come later when he feels the need for it
 
When they are young like this it's time to teach languages. The younger the better. Coding is of course a type of language. Show him all the languages, both spoken and code, tell them what he can do with them, let him choose one, and get him into it asap.

Other than that, have you considered a Blog? Have him blog about whatever he likes and show him how to monetize it and grow the traffic... Those skills can be used in any vertical.
 
Hard farm labor. Then beat him when he gets home and thinks he deserves to relax after 14 hours of work.
 
whatever bros, my son ewhore's on craigslist like a pro. he goes to the playground, ask's the pretty mommies if he can take a picture of them, posts to CL about how horny he is and BAM!

there is nothing wrong with teaching these kiddies IM. they end up learning all kinds of other subjects. anatomy, etc.
 
As far as the forcing stuff onto your kid goes:

As long as you make it a pleasurable experience, kids will find almost anything at least interesting. Even if its shoveling shit at a farm. There are, obviously, those who get punished for their curiousity til it dies off and they spend the rest of their life in front of a tv, but thats not a childs fault.

Teach him how to cook. How to throw a punch. Basic math. Let him help build a sandbox for his younger brother.

Theres no reason a 10 year old shouldnt be able to find x in 2 - x = 1.

There are more things a child at that age can be able to do than "do the dishes".

Give him the ability to succeed at life. Birds throw their children out of the nest in order to make them learn fly. Thats your job. Its not your job to wait for your child to suddenly get interested in something he doesnt even know existed.


Giving ham $500 to play with in PPC seems a bit specific. Especially the amount. If he is in 3rd or 4th grade, thats probably one of the biggest numbers he knows. Could mean all the money in the world to him. Even the ecommerce store seems to be more feasible, but that could hardly be considered fun. Do you enjoy your job? Not for the challenge but for the actual tasks you have to perform?
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_FGFuZY8V8]11-Year-Old Girl Who Is Home Schooled Becomes An Entrepreneur! - YouTube[/ame]
 
cardine said:
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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I couldn't agree with you more. I have first-hand experience with this from my own parents. Worst thing in the fucking world.

With that said, I (falsely?) assumed the kid already had some kind of interest in this stuff. By no means would I advocate forcing any kind of profession on a child. Again, it was done to me and it's fucking horrible.
 
Whats are his hobbies? What toys/games does he like? Teach him how to build a basic fan site for something like this and then bring in affiliate shit. Don't start him off with the boring crap, keep it fun and interesting for him.

Don't put the focus on money to start with, put the focus on fun and monetize later.

And yes, him building his own computer would be huge :) start there. Then show him what he can do on that computer.

Most of all, make sure this is what he WANTS to do, not something that he's FORCED to do.
 
Let him be a kid ffs, let him do what kids do, learn from their mistakes as they do, have fun and don't try to turn him into a mini replica of yourself. That's just plain fucking selfish.

If, in his mid teens, he shows some interest in what you do, then introduce him to it. JMO
 
there is nothing wrong with encouraging your kid to do something outside his comfort zone.

lolz at all these people calling that selfish.

WTF do you think they do at school all day? is it "selfish" to make them take math when they like music class much more? or is it "selfish" to actually teach your kids something that isn't on the curriculum of the government schools?

"ok kids. today we are going to learn how to build a computer"

if a government school employee says this (btw, they won't) its "education"

if a parent says this its "fucking selfish"

only a child would think this way, not a parent with any skillz.

I've seen a lot of kids that were left to "find themselves" by these hippy parents....and they find themselves playing Battlefield 3 all day and popping lortabs.
 
I don't know how anyone can really answer this. You haven't even given any information about what he likes. My son couldn't build a web page if he wanted to and no amount of pushing would create that interest, but he could swap an engine in a car with no training. While he's very creative, he chooses not to focus on that, unless it's creating a car mod. My daughter however teaches herself all matter of tech, photoshop and more. When she was ten she wanted to be an egyptologist, now she wants to be a lawyer And whatever he's interested in now is 90% likely not going to be his future career.

I guess if you have to do something maybe help him set up a forum or a blog that he and other home school kids could use. Photoshop is really fun for kids and useful. Pushing is more likely to lead to rebelling or frustration or disappointment.
 
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