Do you hate your kids or something? Maybe you want them to never want to program.

a very strange order - i really think that C++ is unsuitable as a first language, though it makes a good second or third one.

Assuming you stick to a reasonable subset, it's probably not that bad. And it allows you to go beyond what a language like Python would let you once the basics are down.

python will let you do pretty much anything that c++ will, and generally in an easier fashion. speaking as someone with a lot of c++ experience, and a reasonable amount of python.

I very strongly believe that it's better to start with an easy language. Sure it's easier to learn Python after C++ than it is to learn C++ after Python, but a harder language will most likely frustrate and discourage beginners. I think it's a plausible risk that they might give up on programming and never want to try again.