3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or [email protected]
There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]
Rules
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No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
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Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
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No porn (NSFW prints are acceptable but must be marked NSFW)
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No Ads / Spamming / Guerrilla Marketing
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Do not create links to reddit
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If you see an issue please flag it
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No guns
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No injury gore posts
If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is 
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I knew my way around a printer before building my Voron, but the act of building it from the ground up really helps get you back to the basics: these are really just CNC hot glue guns and the components are not very hard to modify and replace. It's easy to build up a layer of mistique, which leads to not wanting to tinker, when confronted with something new.
You don't have to pick up CAD skills to build a printer, but odds are you'll find an opportunity to design some parts or iterate on someone else's design.
I've been proficient at CAD for longer than I've had printers, but as you know printers make turning ideas into physical parts fairly easy. It took a little while for me to start printint jigs and functional prints, but once I transitioned from thinking "this annoys me" to "I bet I could design something to make this easier" I kept finding more and more opportunities to design things. To me, this matters a lot more than being proficient in CAD. I would say the same thing about programming - understanding where you want to go and why you want to get there can often be more important than writing the actual code.
I've been designing and printing things with my kids as long as they've been alive. At this point they take for granted that I'll be able to design and print something to either fix a broken toy or make something better. They're only 4 and 7, but they do like watching and "helping" me when I have CAD open. More importantly to me, they're also identifying opportunities to make something.
Good luck with your kid! I hope you're able to create an environment where their curiosity moves them in the direction of wanting to create things.