Coding is the backbone of programming. You cannot write a great novel without words and knowledge of grammar—same thing with coding. You cannot program the next big app without learning how to code!
Teaching your kid how to code will not constraint your child’s future to the IT field! In fact, it will help them develop certain skills and a highly inquisitive mindset that will be useful for everyday life and for a wide range of careers in the future.
- Coding can help kids develop discipline
- Coding gives kids an opportunity to develop their life skills
- Learning coding opens up opportunities
We are going to share 3 main reasons why your kid should learn to code; the first reason is not even IT related!
Your kid should learn to code #1 – To develop life skills
The World Health Organization considers problem solving, decision making, and creative thinking as life skills. Life skills are said to enhance one’s quality of life and make them equipped to interact with others and the demands of everyday life.
As a child, they have limited exposure to instances to practice their decision-making skills. A coding class will give them various opportunities to exercise their capability to think creatively, logically, and to make decisions.
Learning to write a code to build a working program entails problem-solving, decision making, and creative thinking! These life skills will be honed through coding classes.
Most free coding websites such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s, Scratch focuses on teaching the concepts of coding. Their free coding classes platform offers a visually stimulating way to represent codes. They represent it through command blocks like the one below:
Your kid should learn to code #2 – To enhance logical thinking
Coding classes will help your child enhance their logical thinking. Programming is about creating “sense” or syntax. Everything that you do in coding should make sense to translate in a functional program.
According to The Edvocate, coding enhances a child’s logic. Children who learn how to code are exposed to a learning environment that is active. They must “code” or write to create a certain program or output.
Coding as a subject is different from most school subjects where students learn in a passive way by understanding a concept and just memorizing it. While children do still need to memorize certain codes or procedures, they get to test them and be engaged in an active learning environment.
Your kid should learn to code #3 – To be future-ready
If your kid is inclined towards gadgets and the internet, hone his/her skills. Of course, you cannot compel your young one to study or have a career in a field that they do not like but, if you see that they can excel in it, find a way to let them learn more about it!
During the pandemic, the digitalization of some processes brought convenience and safety to most. Instead of going to the grocery store, some opted to order online and have their weekly groceries delivered. According to a Forbes article, 79% of shoppers ordered groceries digitally during the height of the pandemic.
The pandemic may have prompted some services to digitize some processes, but the rise of digitization will continue to grow as more advanced technology is created—with that, preparing a future in IT is not a bad idea.
Although coding or programming is just a facet in the IT industry, it is one of the easiest aspects of the IT industry that can be introduced into children. Children as young as 3 have experienced playing games, they have an idea of what coding can create.
Teaching coding to children should not be seen as setting a limitation for career choices when they grow up. If they have dreams to be a veterinarian, they can still pursue that.
They may or may not want to pursue an IT career in the future but learning how to code will teach them discipline and necessary life skills to succeed in the real world.
Bibliography
Department Of Mental Health Social Change And Mental Health Cluster. (1999). Partners In Life Skills Education – Conclusions From A United Nations Inter-agency Meeting. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/30.pdf
Lynch, M. (2017, June 2). What Are The Benefits Of Learning To Code As A Child? The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/benefits-learning-code-child/Morgan, B. (2020, December 14). 3 Lasting Changes To Grocery Shopping After Covid-19. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2020/12/14/3-lasting-changes-to-grocery-shopping-after-covid-19/?sh=2ae3bbd054e7
