Comment Professional Web Designer of 15+ years here... (Score 3, Informative) 342
I've never used a WYSIWYG editor for any website and nobody worth their salt ever would. So your kid is correct and is learning it the right way.
However, what is just as essential (imho) as knowing how to code it all by hand is having a good grasp of graphic design and user experience. If you are able to master both you are a rare breed and extremely marketable in today's world.
The only real design tools you need to design websites is a copy of Photoshop and a good text editor. Everything else is basically fluff.