The ‘Bitcoin Family’ One Year Later

Learning About The Tools of Liberty at a Very Young Age

My son Joshua is now seven, and Franklin is three, and we often discuss the Bitcoin industry that surrounds my life. As a journalist and graphic artist, our family has lived off the Bitcoin economy for close to two years now.

I wrote about our lifestyle a year ago and received a lot of positive commentary and attention on how I raised my children. I also got some negative comments that I was “indoctrinating” my sons. However, this is entirely inaccurate, they have always been interested in their father’s occupation no matter where I worked.

Since I first introduced my children to the world in a written piece about encompassing Bitcoin into family our life, my boys have grown to love what I do. Now, they are both even more interested in cryptocurrency, and talking about Bitcoin is a regular occurrence. My oldest son, Joshua, has sent payments with me, took part in my recent Ledger Wallet review, and my son Franklin wants us to be bitcoins for Halloween.

Bitcoin family
Joshua looking at one of my articles, 2015
Joshua has probably taken in the most information about the decentralized digital currency. He knows a lot more than most kids I know when it comes to this amazing technology. For instance, he knows that there is no government behind Bitcoin, no corporation, and most importantly to him, no boss.

However, Franklin has asked if I happened to be the boss of Bitcoin, because it is incorporated into my everyday lifestyle. One day he asked me, “Dad, are you the boss of Bitcoin?” to which I replied, “No, Franklin, there is no boss of Bitcoin.” He didn’t seem to like that answer and stated:

Dad, I wish you were the boss of Bitcoin
Education and Fun for the Whole Family

We have a lot of fun when talking about cryptocurrencies, and we have colored many pictures featuring bitcoins. Often times, my children laugh at the fact that when Dad colors with crayons, he often draws a big orange Bitcoin symbol somewhere in the drawing. A few weeks ago we were coloring My Little Pony characters and put “cutie marks” on the ponies’ behinds. Of course, mine had a Bitcoin symbol on the pony, and we named her “Bitcoin Betty” — she was basically a different version of AppleJack.

When it comes to learning about Bitcoin, Joshua always has a lot of questions, and remembers quite a bit of the details surrounding the digital currency. We talk about candlestick charts and what the red and green candlesticks mean. We talk about cold storage, as I have Ledger, Trezor, and OpenDime wallets laying about at my computer station. He knows these devices hold bitcoin and keep them preserved offline. Joshua also knows the difference between these devices and some of the other wallets I use, such as the one on my phone. He knows that Dad gets paid in bitcoin, and this is what pays the bills, provides our family with food, and buys him toys or Pokemon cards.

To the Negative Skeptics

Bitcoin family
Joshua with a Trezor, featured on Motherboard, August 2015
Obviously, I don’t care too much what people think about our children learning the basics of Bitcoin. They have learned quite a bit over the years, always inspired by their own curiosity towards their father’s occupation. They are learning math, scarcity, decentralization, peer-to-peer networks, and open source code. Recently, Joshua, who loves computers, has been trying out MIT’s Scratch Program, and he enjoys the educational games that subliminally teach basic programming skills.

After our family got featured on Motherboard, I was a little dismayed by the lack of understanding and acceptance towards what we were doing. I’ve since learned to shrug it off, as I know my children are getting an educational advantage concerning emerging technologies.

One commenter on Reddit at the time the article was released said he was into Bitcoin but never spoke about cryptocurrency in front of his kid.

Josh Bitcoin family
Joshua and I review the new Ledger Wallet Nano S, 2016
And yes, my article was submitted to the r/buttcoin forum, where they had a field day with it. However, our family got a significant amount of positive commentary and support as well. I believe the negative form of ignorance is quite ridiculous, and I want my children to know about everything their father does — whether it’s learning about fishing or putting bitcoins in cold storage.

I will never regret the education I am giving my sons when it comes to Bitcoin. They are learning about economics, sound money and technology earlier than most people. In time, my children will be the leaders of a new age and embrace the paradigm shift when it comes to individualism and money. They are already on the path towards this future.

What do you think about children learning about Bitcoin? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear about your experiences with your kids and cryptocurrencies.