Asked this question here a year ago. Think I have sufficient material gleaned from this year of personal growth to answer it myself
How to Raise BTC-Proud Children
- Focus on value creation
- Societal forces will conspire to make your impressionable child conform, so it’s imperative that we parents inculcate a strong sense of self in our children. It’s normal for them to feel inferior when their peers score better results or excel in sports, but we should let them know that they shouldn’t equate their self-worth with their grades or athleticism.
- As such, it’s important for children to hone their unique talents and strengths. When they develop a niche at what they are good at, they are likely to develop a solid internal locus of control because they will develop a titanium immunity against others’ opinions and expectations.
- Indeed, our child’s most invaluable asset is his/her brain. When s/he leverages it to create value, s/he will be able to push the noise and chaos of the VUCA world into the background and focusing on contributing uniquely to the world.
- An example is helping our children get zaps for their original drawings and stories. Children mayn’t be accomplished artists, but they have the upper edge in offering an unusual point of view because their imagination is as pure as the first snowfall in winter. By uploading them on Stacker News or attaching a Lightning Network address to their work, they will come to realise that if they concentrate on producing good value, they may be paid handsomely for their Proof of Work.
- Inculcate a rigorous value system
- Helping your child to instill an indefatigable sense of self is a vital first step. However, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so there is much more to be done.
- Bitcoiners who have immersed themselves long in this trustless space will encounter the Bitcoin ethos sooner or later. They will learn that “Stay humble, stack sats” is not just a motherhood statement, but instead a reassuring and reliable principle of life to abide by.
- Just what does it mean to “stay humble”? Humility is a value best caught than taught, so we parents must endeavour to be individuals with integrity. Our words must match our actions since our children are watching.
- Humility is demonstrated in various ways. Refraining from spending unnecessarily, avoiding the flexing of one’s wealth, keeping a discreet profile - all these are ways that will help children understand that regardless of Bitcoin’s price movements, they ought to lead a life unencumbered by it.
- Use the environment as your third teacher
- Your child is a comfortable being who knows how to contribute to the world and embodies sound values. You are then ready to expose him or her to Bitcoin.
- Creating a conducive environment for your children to learn about Bitcoin makes it seem like second nature for them. Children absorb things like sponges. Cartoons like Tuttle Twins and Futurama have special episodes dedicated to Bitcoin. Several authors have written BTC books for kids. You can even paste Bitcoin stickers all over your home so that children drink in the messages without conscious effort.
- Exposing your children to various media surely beats you giving a lecture about it. They may be stimulated enough to formulate their own questions when they learn about how other individuals and families are using BTC to improve their lives.
- Should your child play games to earn sats?
- Gamification is sweeping many fields these days and is transforming the way we live our lives. Even the online student learning management system in my country has embarked on gamification in a momentous way, enabling teachers to manage quests and award points for the assignments they set their students.
- Personally, I am not above playing a few games of Soltaire (offered by Zebedee) to get some sats. However, these games can get rather addictive for young impressionable minds quickly, so introducing them to gamification will distract them from your desire to have them focus on their unique value creation.
- Also, when an app gives out some sats for “free”, we can safely assume that we are the product. Do we want our privacy and personal information to be compromised for a few sats?
TL;DR: create explosive exclusive value. stay humble. let Bitcoin have relevance in their lives. don’t miss the forest for the trees by playing BTC games.