My advice would be to pick a particular thing and learn it really really well--whether it's writing a program, setting up a server, or wiring a network. Even if the technology changes, you're better off having been really good at something than dabbling in too many things. As a one-person-shop developer for most of my career, I've worked with HTML, Javascript, CSS. .NET, PHP, MySQL, T-SQL, Excel, VBA, etc. etc. etc. Better, I think, to have learned one area deeply and to work on a team with others who also have learned their area of expertise deeply.

As for getting kids interested...some kids respond well when you tell them the story of how you became a techie. Some want to hear how much power and prestige they will have if they become an IT person. Others respond well when they learn how much they can help the world through IT. I'm sure there are other approaches too.