>> Likes tech, good at math and a memory like a elephant.
Not surprised to hear that. And that’s good.
Scripting languages like Python may not have enough structure for newbies. It’s a decent language, but without guidance (or a lot of patience) it can be a frustrating experience. And that won’t motivate your son.
Given today’s languages, C# would be a better fit since the coding environment provides better guidance and feedback. It’s also a gentle language unlike the similarly named C/C++. Give it a try by downloading the free community version of Visual Studio. VS provides wizards to setup a variety project types from simple console “Hello World” apps to the more advanced web services stuff.
Teach him to overcome the anxiety when confronted with the bugs, syntax errors, etc. Take a break, try again, try something different — valuable mental exercises that can help in the real world too.
I have a few old Visual CDs and got into it myself years ago. Started building a simple weight calculator for a trade I was in. Simple quantity + weight calculations tallied to a grand total that I know would be useful. I had it working but didn’t have all the static numbers plugged in. Arrays.
I had told him about Visual and thought I saw Visual ** on his screen recently. Didn’t inquire til now but I guess he’s working on a video game in C#.
I think I’ll have him finish my project. It’s easy math and he could see a finished project which will give him some encouragement. I know a magazine it could be advertised in cheap. Selling price could be $20-30.00 or something.
I’ve been kind of letting him go on the PC but have noticed graphics, chat and code on his screen so I had a feeling it was a video game. Might be collaborating. Will have to inquire some more soon. I’ve also noticed he gets up and takes a break quite often and I and the wife had already given him the advice to get take a break.
Speaking of games. I think there’s only been one Nintendo DS game he hasn’t beat in an hour or three. At $30-40.00, it kinda sucked for us. I’m blue collar and the wife is service industry so that’s 2-4 hours of labor for us.