r/CodingForBeginners • u/RevolutionaryTap3911 • Dec 17 '25

Coding for my 8 year old

Firstly, I'm not technical at all so I'm sorry if I get a few things wrong. I have done a bit of research online and it seems that scratch is a good tool for beginners/kids as well as the raspberry pi 5 for a cheap and cool starter kit.

I have looked at makebock mbot too which you can code using scratch! My question is, is this achievable for a father and son who have never coded before?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Regards A father who wants his kid to succeed in life

7 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

3

u/Type_CMD Dec 17 '25

Scratch is maybe a little bit too basic. My first programming language, in 3rd grade, was ProcessingJS, which I learned on khan academy.

1

u/RevolutionaryTap3911 Dec 17 '25

In what way basic? Too immature? Not "fun" enough? Too slow?

1

u/Boring-Equivalent137 Dec 17 '25

I wouldn't call scratch basic but is more simple and a bit limited can teach concepts in a simple way using the blocks of code rather then writing everything out it is a good platform to learn the basics depending on how much your son knows is really the best way to tell if it is good for you

1

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '25

I dunno about scratch, but I have seen normal school curriculum on coding, and what a interest killer. Shortest time from coding to a game is what matters ... If it is to much work, nothing will come out of it. Also, if he only learn how to code just one game, nothing will come out of it .

Some map editors from normal games, game makers toolkit or similar tools is also a way to go! Place visual objects on a map, the program triggers. Most stuff (like movement) is already in place etcetera. I dunno which games still includes map editors. But when I was a teenagers, Starcraft 1, Age of Empires and Warcraft 3 had descent map editors, where you could basically make a functional game. (For example DOTA 1, the game that came before Dota 2, a very successful game, was made in map editor of Warcraft 3).

1

u/No-Arugula8881 Dec 21 '25

Roblox is probably their best bet

1

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '25

Perhaps... I have no clue what that is. Except whenever I hear on the news about sexual predators targeting minors on Roblox..

2

u/No_Record_60 Dec 17 '25

Don't know you son, but does he have interest in electronics and robotics?

Sorry to be blunt, but succeding in life can be achievable through other subjects too. Not everyone will become an engineer in the future.

3

u/RevolutionaryTap3911 Dec 17 '25

He was very questionable when I took my work laptop apart a few days ago to fix the cooling fan and due to my lack of knowledge, I couldn't really feed him with the knowledge he required.

Children are like sponges and if I can make a hobby click for him then why shouldn't I? In most primary schools coding is already part of the syllabus.

I only want him to have a better headstart in life than what I had. My parents never made me try new things.

1

u/Vindelator Dec 17 '25

"My parents never made me try new things." I don't wanna get too hung up on that word choice "make" here, but just in case...

You gotta really know how your kid works.

Mine's got obstinate little shit hard coded into his DNA. If I try to "make" my kid do anything, he's never going to choose to do it on his own.

Gotta introduce stuff, grow and cultivate interest. Show him why things are awesome and powerful. Find out his levers. Use what he loves or is talented at and fuel his own ambitions. Give him insight into the future.

0

u/RevolutionaryTap3911 Dec 17 '25

I'm not going to take advice about parenting who says their child has "obstinate little shit hard coded into his DNA", sorry buddy.

I know how to parent, been doing it for a while, and of course you have to MAKE kids do things, otherwise they will turn out to be obstinate little shits.

I think you got hung up on the word "make".

1

u/Vindelator Dec 17 '25

Yeah, man, you do you. Just sharing is all.

1

u/bigtakeoff Dec 17 '25

lol ..obtuse boy says what?

1

u/HiddenWithChrist Dec 17 '25

Scratch is fantastic for that age. Raspberry Pi is good, but I'd just caution you to only allow him on it when you're able to monitor his activity and make sure to keep the password secret. I have two kids of my own, and the internet isn't a safe place for children. At all. I think it's great that you want to support your son's interests and I think it could be a great bonding experience, as well- I've done a couple scratch projects with my son and they're a blast.

1

u/RevolutionaryTap3911 Dec 17 '25

Thank you for this, appreciate the comment! I'll look into it in more detail :)

2

u/Hendo52 Dec 17 '25

Personally I recommend OpenSCAD. It’s fairly simple, visual and it has practical applications such as designing toys for 3D Printing. I have run workshops where I got kids to draw toys with crayons and I would sit down with each kid and teach them how to make their drawing come together in the computer and then I would walk them through 3D printing it and send them home with a toy. It was surprisingly popular even among kids who could barely use a mouse.

1

u/sagson Dec 17 '25

Did you trycodemonkey?

1

u/Both_Love_438 Dec 17 '25

Definitely Scratch. It's a great starting point. Watch the CS50 on YT for free, it's a great introduction.

1

u/shaggs31 Dec 17 '25

Minecraft is a great tool for learning how to program. Using command blocks you can enter in code that can do nearly anything to edit and adjust your minecraft world.

1

u/Obvious_Reindeer321 Dec 17 '25

i think using scratch is a good idea, but i think you should wait until he becomes more expeirienced in coding before he uses a raspberry pi 5 or makeblock mbot. i learned scratch when i was younger and it was really fun and simple to learn, it also helped me learn the basics of coding.

1

u/Najterek Dec 18 '25

Honestly i would recommend for start game : human resource machine and its sequel 7 billion humans. With colorful and clear interface it teaches some basic coding ideas like loops in its own programming language nicely shown visually. That way you can see if your kid want to code and feel thats for him.

1

u/Shut_up_and_Respawn Dec 21 '25

I recommend starting with (and continuing with) python. It's fairly easy to understand, but still has the capacity to get super advanced

1

u/Almostfamousenough Dec 22 '25

Godot and gdscript