My 7yo learned to code and now wants to make a game about dinosaurs

Dec 91 min read

So my oldest just finished the Scratch Jr intro course and is absolutely obsessed. He's been drawing sprites for like 3 hours straight and keeps asking me "Dad, can I make the T-Rex jump higher?" I have NO idea how to help him with actual code but honestly the kid's so engaged I don't even care. He's barely touched his iPad all week. Anyone else's kids gotten into Scratch? Is it legit educational or am I just letting him play on the computer and calling it learning? 😅

11 comments483 views

Comments(11)

GGene K.RegularDec 9

dude this is amazing. Scratch Jr is such a gateway drug for that age. The fact that he's thinking about jump mechanics already means his brain is already in the logic. Ride this wave.

PPatrick W.RegularDec 10

Bro 3 hours on sprite design at that age is insane focus. Most kids drop off after 15 minutes. You gotta feed this. Can you make a deadline together like "T-Rex game v1 in 2 weeks" so it feels real?

RRick J.RegularDec 10

My 9yo did the same Scratch Jr thing. Pro tip: let him fail at the jump mechanics first. The frustration -> problem solving loop is where the real learning happens. Don't just show him the answer.

GGreg W.RegularDec 10

3 hours of sprite drawing straight sounds like he found his thing. This is better than most toys honestly. Does he want to actually finish a game or just keep creating forever?

TTerrence J.RegularDec 10

My 7yo did the same thing and now every conversation is about her game. It's actually pretty cool watching them solve problems when they run into bugs though. Like they have to think it through.

OOwen F.RegularDec 10

The obsessive sprite drawing phase is the best part. Don't interrupt it. Just let him do his thing and when he gets stuck on something technical that's when you help. He's basically teaching himself right now.

AAdam J.RegularDec 10

Let him make the T-Rex jump however high he wants honestly. That's him learning iteration. He'll figure out what looks right. Don't fix it for him even if it looks weird.

WWes B.RegularDec 11

This is so cool but also a little scary because now you're gonna have to learn Scratch too if he starts asking real questions lol. YouTube is your friend here.

PPete Y.RegularDec 11

The sprite drawing obsession is so wholesome. He's doing art + logic combined without realizing it. This is literally how game dev works.

RRussell D.RegularDec 11

The dinosaur game request is gold. He's already past the "follow the tutorial" phase and thinking in systems. That's the sweet spot where it stops being a course and starts being actual creation.

MMarcus W.RegularDec 11

Question - is he wanting to share this with anyone or just making it for himself? Because there are kid gaming communities that would go NUTS for a dinosaur Scratch game from a 7yo. Could be some real motivation there.