My daughter wants to be an engineer now

Jan 17·1 min read

So she watched some YouTube video about girls in STEM and now she's convinced she's gonna build bridges. I have absolutely no engineering knowledge and honestly have no idea how to encourage this without it becoming another abandoned interest in 2 weeks. She's 10 btw. Should I be looking for classes or camps or just let her explore on her own? What have other parents done when their kids get into something specific like this?

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Comments(6)

DDwayne S.Regular1d ago

YouTube STEM videos are actually the perfect gateway for this age. Stuff like CrunchLabs or those engineering challenge channels keep kids engaged way better than a class would.

KKevin P.Regularjust now

Don't sign her up for anything yet. At 10 with a 2-week attention span that's a waste. Just encourage her, answer questions, maybe watch videos together. The interest will either stick or it won't.

FFrank T.Regular14h ago

Same thing happened with my 9yo and robotics after one YouTube video. I enrolled her in a class immediately. She lasted 3 weeks. Now she watches the videos and builds stuff on her own sometimes. I should've waited.

TTodd N.Regularjust now

The bridge thing is actually a solid interest because there's visual results. Could be worse - at least she's not into TikTok dances lol

CCharlie A.New Dadjust now

Honestly just take her to a science museum or find a bridge tour nearby. Keep it free/low pressure. If it sticks in 6 months then maybe look at actual classes.

MMiles B.New Dadjust now

You don't need engineering knowledge to encourage her. Just ask her questions about what she's learning, take her to cool buildings and ask how she thinks they were built. That's it.