Advice for dad of two daughters interested in technical disciplines
I have two girls, both in elementary school. One loves programming in scratch and science (all fields); the other is extremely tech savvy. Both girls have the aptitude and the interest, and we’ve been stoking that as much as we can. We’ve been supportive and shared what knowledge we can (I’m a software engineer). But from what I’ve seen in the industry and on Blind, young girls and women need more than just parental support. I want to create a better tech world for my kiddos and others like them. We are already: mentoring young female engineers; running a science themed Girl Scout troop; running a STEM program for girls of the same age. What else can we do?
Stop. Just stop. Wait until they're older.
This!!
Take them outside backpacking. Teach them to start a fire, how to catch game.
‘But from what I’ve seen in the industry and on Blind, young girls and women need more than just parental support.’ I think this is biased thinking. At young the support needed by young girls or young guys is same and quite minimal. They are still exploring their passions.
Don't pressure them to meet your expectations though. I found that quite hard and unfair as a kid!
We never pressured them. My oldest just showed a love of shapes and geometry at an early age so we read her kids books on it. Same was true for oceanography. And astronomy. And every other science she came in contact with. Oh I should mention the oldest has high functioning autism and hates fiction and likes being on her own (except sometimes with her best friend). When we let her watch TV she wants to watch documentaries. A very unusual kid.
Get a DIY 3d printer kit. They go for around 150 when on sale and then maybe $50 in safety upgrades. The concept revolves around geometry I think(x,Y,z axis) and you can also hook up a raspberry pi to control it online. Customer support for these is non existent but support on fb groups is pretty good. I'm using an Anet A8 fwiw
Raspberry Pi each, and look into idTech
This. There are a million things they can do with them.
Parental support is essential, you’re doing all the right things. If your girls end up choosing something else, it isn’t not because you did something wrong. But don’t pressure them :)
Build their confidence in their technical skills. Don't ever let them feel intimidated or not good enough. Keep it fun. Make math science and technology seem accessible and acheivable!
Love that you said "my kiddos" ☺ i think showing them cool/meaningful applications of tech and stoking their curiosity about how things work is a good approach.
Get them some Udemy courses. Then get them set up on upwork for freelance work. They will be getting great practice and will make more $ than any of their friends who are babysitting.
Will check that out. Thanks.
I got my nephew one for game development. He hated doing home work. Only wanted to watch tv and play video games. I taught him how to code. Got him a course on unity development and now he’s one of the coolest kids in his class because he can make games.