For the past few months, one of the greatest sources of smiles for my two boys (now ages 12 and 9) has been a computer game called Minecraft. The game is basically a computerized 3D lego world, and playing it clearly gets my kids’ creative juices flowing. Strangely, my boys both spend far more time talking about the game (with each other and with their friends) than actually playing it.
Whenever my kids are really into something like this, I always try to make an effort to learn a little bit about it so that I can understand their conversations and perhaps offer some suggestions. A few weeks ago, I sat down and watched them play the game for half an hour and I was mortified to see how much trouble my home PC was having running the game. Minecraft is certainly not a very demanding game, as the graphics are very simple and retro, but my system clearly couldn’t handle it. The amount of lag and crashes that the boys were having to deal with in order to play the game was just painful for me to watch (full disclosure: I do work on computers for a living).
When I was the same age as my boys, computers and video games were already a big part of my life. This was back when home computers were just coming into the mainstream, and I was immediately drawn to them. Within a few months of my parents purchasing the first family PC, I had already learned how to write batch scripts to accomplish repeatable tasks, and had started creating small games in BASIC. This passion eventually led to my choosing to get a computer science degree in college, and launched me into a career where I am able to earn a fairly decent salary that allows for me to take care of my family.
As such, I certainly encourage my kids to learn everything they can about computers, and I wouldn’t discourage them from one day using these skills to craft a living for themselves (see what I did there?). About once a month, I give my kids a “daddy computer lesson” where I dig into either the hardware or software side of computers, and pour some of my experience into their brains. Previous lessons have included setting up a new router, understanding file compression, and replacing a power supply.
After watching them struggle through trying to run a modern game on a five year old system, I realized that their feelings about computers were likely going to be centered around utter frustration, unless I did something. Since my middle son’s birthday was coming up, I made the pitch to upgrade the home PC as a birthday present to him this year. Since he loves Minecraft as much as anyone, he was immediately on board with the idea. We packed the family up and went up the local Microcenter to pick up some components to build a new system.
I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to purchase before setting foot in the store, but the staff was extremely helpful with making sure that all of the parts were compatible. If you don’t have one in your area, Microcenter basically to computer techies what IKEA is to the HGTV crowd, a true nerd candy land. When the day was done, we took all of the parts home and I began the best daddy computer lesson yet, building a computer from scratch. Part by part, I put the system together and explained what each part did and why it was important. My kids asked a lot of questions, which I was thrilled to see, and I think they enjoyed the process.
In the end, the new system blows the old one of out of the water. The polygon 3D worlds now render quickly and effortlessly. and the system should be able to handle anything we throw at it for the next few years. I don’t think my kids realize that I was secretly trying to plant seeds for a potential career down the road, but at the same time, I was clearly crafting some smiles in the process.
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Thats an awesome skill to teach your sons. I was always interested in computer games as a kid, but I never learned how the hardware really worked. Your sons probably know more about computers than 99% of people, which will set them in good stead for a job later on!
All you can really teach your children is what you already know.. Every parent should aim to do that.
That’s great. Our daughter is 22 months old and has always enjoyed looking at our phone. Yesterday I actually downloaded a little shape matching game and while she wasn’t really getting the right shapes, she started learning the touch screen swipe and she was hitting the various shapes on the screen, and yelling ‘I did it!’. It’s amazing how much they learn and know so young!
I have been wanting to get an iPad for our 20 month old.. She definitely loves the computer but is completely baffled by the concept of a mouse (or a touchpad).
This is a great idea, my niece is just getting to that age where computers absolutely fascinate her. I think learning how everything works will be just as exciting for her and building your own computer is a great way to learn all about the different components.
In many ways, kids’ minds are just blank canvases waiting to be filled with whatever you want to teach them.
Seems like it provides an excellent creative outlet. Reminds me of the imaginary architectural feats in the movie Inception!
It does kind of remind me of Inception too, now that you mention it. Kids (and grown-ups) build some amazing things with that game..
Great job! I’m sure our boy would get to that point someday. I don’t know if I would encourage him to take up the software/hardware engineer path though. It wasn’t fun for me and I think other career path might be better.
I’ve heard of mine craft, but i still have no idea how it works.
Oh.. I love my career choice as a software engineer.. Yes, there are challenges.. But overall the pay, opportunity for advancement, and ability to shape your own hours and put yourself into your work– is far beyond what the average person deals with,
That’s a great lesson for the kids. I love Minecraft and can relate to older computers not being able to handle it. It’s such a simple looking game, but the amount of RAM required for graphic quality is nuts.
Computer skills are great to learn at a young age. These days, computers are everywhere. I’m sure they will appreciate what you’ve taught them in the years ahead.
There is no MicroCenter by our house, but I also am very into computers/tech stuff so I’m sure I would enjoy it. When I have kids I hope to also spend time teaching them things about computers or other things that will benefit them later in life.
This is an awesome little project. I’ve had friends build their own computers, but I never have. I remember our family computer when I was growing up was terribly slow as well. I’m sure your kids really appreciate the faster, and more meaningful, computer they have now.
Taking a problem in your lives and turning it into a teaching moment for your children. Jefferson, we are so proud of how far you have come as a parent and a human being. I still remember the first time I met you and I had my doubts. I really hate eating crow, but here goes…..
Honestly, not real bad doubts, but you have a daughter, and one day you will understand what I mean. I don’t know if just any guy will be good enough for the little S.D.R. baby girl. Love you guys and the great content you put out for the blog…Thanks again.
It’s amazing how no matter what new thing there is, they’re never quite like the old ones. To this day, i still think the most enjoyable game is Super Marios.
That was an amazing gift for you son. Minecraft brings out the creative side of the kids.
I think it’s a great idea that you try and steer your kids towards a career that clearly has great employment opportunities. I also think it’s great that you’re teaching kids early on to understand the world around them and that they can do awesome things like build a computer. Good job!
I received my first computer experience when I was very young and my father set up our first PC. He kept it in his room for work but I always caught him playing an airplane game. We had computer games at school but I don’t think I had realized I could have them at home too until my dad brought them home for me. I fell in love. I adored Millie’s math house and some Mickey Mouse game but my ultimate favorite was a story publisher. You could pick out what type of writing you wanted to do: newspaper, fairytale, ect. and I spent the majority of my computer time playing around writing. From there I discovered AOL had a young kid’s section that included a bookworm club and my interest in reading and writing grew. I can’t say that computers at a young age sparked me to enter a career with technology, but they sparked me to entire a career full of what I first loved on them while continuing to use them. It blows my mind when people don’t have computers but then I realize that these type of people don’t need them. They can access email and Facebook right from there phones. Sure I can do all of this too but I like computers to be able to physically type and edit my writing. I rely on them for this and sometimes I forgot other people don’t do these things.
My little brother who is 10 years old is all about video games and computer games. It kind of makes me a little angry because all he does is sit in front of the TV and talk to his friends over the microphone rather than actually going out and interacting with them in person and playing outside like kids should. I hope this doesn’t mean problems being social or relying on technology too much as this generation of kids grow up.