There has been a lot of hype recently about the fact that kids should learn to code, and there’s good reason for that. We are living in a fast-paced, technology driven world where these skills are going to certainly give your kids an edge once they start applying to colleges or entering the job market.
It has been projected that over 1 million Computer Science jobs will be unfulfilled by the year 2020*, and with this parents and educators are realising the importance of teaching kids the new language of the world. It’s a basic form of literacy that cannot be ignored.
Besides this, there are many other reasons why your kids should learn to code, and here we take a look at some of them.
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Introducing Coding Early On
It’s a fact that kids learn faster when they are younger, so it’s incredibly important to introduce them to coding while they are still young, and not already in college. As we’ve already said, giving them this competitive advantage is a great way to set them up for success in later life and that’s a great gift to give your child.
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The World is Changing
It doesn’t take rocket science to realise that our world is changing each and every day with new connectivity, new devices, new technology and more. Our kids are growing up in the digital world and we can’t afford to not let them keep pace with it. By not learning to code early on, it will be almost as bad as illiteracy and innumeracy in the next couple of years.
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Coding Teaches Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Kids love to code once they get started and the best thing about it is that it teaches them to think critically and teaches them to problem solve as well. They can’t just give up and hope the answer just comes to them; they need to work at it to get the desired output they want, which is a great skill for kids to learn to help them in later life. Once they’ve mastered the basics they’ll be creating websites, apps and games before you know it.
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Coding Fosters Creativity
It might not sound like coding can be creative, however it really can be. When learning to code, there is a world of possibilities right in front of them to play with, create and have fun with. As they master the ‘art’ of coding it also builds their confidence in their abilities and makes them feel empowered. There are loads of interactive programmes out there that teach kids how to code in a fun and interactive way, where they don’t feel like they’re learning, but rather like they’re playing a game and they are the masters of that game as they change and manipulate it to be what they want it to be.
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Kids Learn to Understand the World Around Them
Do you have any idea how your smartphone works, or your laptop, or even how social media and video games run? Well we’d be surprised if you did. When we provide our kids with the opportunity to learn to code it will change the way that they use and interact with the technology that is out there today, let alone what’s still to come.
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Learning to Code Teaches Vital Life Lessons**
You might be surprised at the amount of life lessons that coding can teach your kids, but they are quite substantial.
- Learning from mistakes is essential.
- Mistakes and failure are part of life and are not to be feared.
- Success needs to be worked at.
- Persistence pays off.
- Teamwork is critical.
Coding teaches kids to take responsible risks and engages them in the problem solving process of trial and error. This encourages students to:
- Get out of their comfort zone and give it a go.
- Make a logical attempt to solve a problem.
- Analyse their errors.
- Apply their critical thinking skills while trying again to solve the problem, teaching persistence.
- Repeat the process, sometimes seeking some advice from a friend or teacher, until they have managed to solve their problem.
Coding really is the way of the future, and we strongly urge you to consider giving your child this amazing opportunity to help them now and in the future.
Sources:
*https://www.sitepoint.com/6-reasons-why-your-child-and-mine-should-learn-to-code/
**http://www.fractuslearning.com/2014/05/15/kids-should-learn-to-code/
