> These kinds of projects read to me like using the kid as an excuse to build something that the parent thinks is cool.

It is, and that's actually very healthy and okay. It's called co-construction. I'd urge you to read educational theorists like Friere - building motivation through shared interests etc.

You're possibly mistaking what I'm doing from actually trying to teach bash and python etc. That would be insane. Those, and the whole vocation of coding, may well be dead by the time she's a teenager. It's about engaged parenting.