Perhaps learn non-MS-specific, generic computer skills that'll still be useful to the kid in ten years time.

The kid apparently has either a talent for computers or for learning.
Either way, it's a waste to train him for an MCP exam when the kid could be learning something actually valuable in the future.
I have no idea whether an MCP exam is easy or difficult, but it'll damn sure be useless by the time he is old enough to get benefits from such certification.
Having the kid get an MCP certification is about the parents' bragging rights rather than actually teaching the kid something valuable.

Yes. This.
Spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 365 days concentrating on being a better person, nothing else.
Do not try to keep in touch with your old self. Do not try to work on your education, knowledge or skills.
Do not try to improve anything about yourself except whatever "being a better person" entails.
Force yourself to enjoy yourself for 8.760 concecutive hours without interruption. /sarcasm

I typically do some programming on vacations too. Because I enjoy doing it.
If you're not going to have an internet connection (or rather; any outside help), I'd try to focus on things for which you can get a complete manual in paper.
I think a language like C would be ideal; relatively small syntax and standard library. Probably any "old" language would do in your situation.
"Generic" IT books would also be great. If you got the complete "Art of computer programming" series, you'd probably be the only human who will have read it completely and will have learned a lot of useful things.

Yes. It's the same button as the "extremists" button.
The "child abuse" button is also appropriate, considering these people affect your childrens' future freedom.

Does online CS education also include lessons on how to make database columns wide enough to contain article titles?
(Or comment subjects)

I too prefer to own what I buy.

You are being pendantic and you know it (or atleast I sincerely hope you do).

If the goal of the exercise was to write an image file format parser, then you have cheated.
If the goal of the exercise was to create a game and you just used third party code to load game assets, it's not cheating.
And if the goal of the exercise is to write an OS kernel, you should probably re-code parts of the POSIX API (or invent your own API).

If your common sense doesn't tell you where to draw the line, your teacher probably will.

p.s. FWIW, I have written a PNG library for a programming language which previously had none. So yes; there is use in being able to do so. The purpose of education is not to make you highly efficient in one specific programming language (as much as Microsoft and it's ilk might want it to), but to make you able to solve problems on your own.

Who do you think would be dead first? Sociopathic criminals or the nice people who oppose them?

It's not cheating if you're a professional programmer paid to produce software.
It IS cheating if you're a student who is supposed to be demonstrating their ability to create working code on their own.

This in sharp contrast to people using "pathetic fucking idiot" to describe people they don't like.

I think "-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview" is entirely valid in this case.

"Drunk History" disproves both A and B.
Comedy Central again indirectly provides better information than the channels dedicated to providing information.

Regardless, it should be pretty obvious that survival of the Anaconda is a secondary concern.

If by "formerly" you mean "long gone".

I don't remember seeing one on the net, but I've stopped doing COBOL about 5 years ago.

Besides, the language is besides the point. It's the mentality of the developers.

Basically do every good thing you were taught but practically never do, like checking every possible error, validating every input, keep-it-simple, etc. Then add mature procedures, methodologies and tooling. If you're doing ingenious things in your code, you're probably making it harder to maintain. Code should look like it doesn't solve any problem at all; it should look like any idiot could have made it.