Game Development

That's how I started. When I was 10 years old, I discovered game maker and accidentally gained a lifelong passion for programming.

not the computer wizkid, but the average one

I can assure you that 10 year old me was below average with computers. It's a miracle I managed to figure out how to install gamemaker at all. The only thing that matters is interest, passion, and determination. If the child doesn't have those things, they probably won't succeed, and you probably can't force them to, which is fine. It doesn't mean they won't become a software engineer in the future, just that they won't do it at an early age. I know engineers who started learning programming in college, and are way smarter than me even though I had almost a decade head start.

EDIT: btw, I don't know if I'd recommend gamemaker today. When I started with it, it was simple and specifically aimed at learning. Today, it's trying to be a full-blown commercial game engine and it has gotten pretty complex. Another option might be Godot, but I'd strongly recommend against it. Godot is way too complex for someone's first game engine. Some people like Scratch, but IMO it's pretty lame and feels more like a homework assignment.

Some possible alternatives (haven't used them myself):

• https://www.construct.net/en
• https://gdevelop.io/
• https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/

Or just search for "no code game engine" in your favorite search engine. There are probably tons of those today.