Learning any new skill can be daunting for most people and learning to code may be super challenging for adults, which makes most parents think it’s quite impossible for kids. But the reality is that coding has increasingly become one of the biggest trends in the education sector and kids are great when it comes to learning to code. One of the most beneficial reasons why kids should learn coding is the tremendous opportunities for both in terms of acquiring life skills and exploring career opportunities.
Let’s explore some benefits of learning to code:
Qualified Coders Are In Demand
Learning to code will improve your child’s chances of a lucrative STEM career. Artificial intelligence (AI) and computing jobs are growing exponentially globally. Coders are in high demand and have become a vital skill, and graduates with Computer Science majors can earn 40% more compared to the college graduate average.
Coding Gives You A Competitive Advantage
Learning to code makes you stand out in the eyes of admission officers and your future employers. Many of your peers lack this skill, giving you a competitive edge when applying to colleges, internships, and jobs.
Computer Programming Gives Kids A Challenge And Helps Them Develop Resilience
When children learn to code, they develop the ability to bounce back after failure. They learn that failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and that it can often serve as a positive learning opportunity.
When you fail and try again you can learn from your mistakes. Coding gives children the ability to try and try again until they succeed and produce the desired result.
Coding Improves Creativity
Coding can be a fulfilling and creative activity. You can develop apps, mobile games, websites, and more if you know how to to code. Coding improves your creativity; it’s like learning a language. Computer coding will give you the skills to develop your own app or video game or website. These can be your creative outlet to express yourself.
Coding Improves Problem-Solving
Coding requires analyzing, breaking down and tackling complex problems. This helps kids and teens to learn and understand how to approach various challenges and problems using logic and computational thinking. This logical thinking will help you in school, work, and life.
Coding Improves Determination And Persistence
Learning to code is challenging, just like learning anything new. When coding, you’ll come across complicated problems, make errors and experience frustration. Coding will teach kids and teens the valuable skill of persistence when confronting such challenges.
Coding Teaches Teamwork And Collaboration.
Coding is about facing problems and solutions for those problems. Learning to code focuses on finding solutions through research and collaboration. Collaboration is a key element in learning how to code and a skill that in general helps kids and teens in school, work, and life.
Coding Improves Communication
Communication is a must-have skill in school, work, and life. If you know how to communicate and express complex ideas in simple terms, there is little to stand in your path to success in different industries and life. When kids and teens learn how to code, they can master the valuable skill of how to communicate with computers.
Coding Is A Part Of A Child’s Education
Children are growing up with electronic devices like computers, smartphones, digital toys, and many more. Learning how to code helps them to understand how software in these devices are running and how web pages appear on their screen.
Coding Strengthens Children’s Academic Skills
In addition to computational thinking and programming skills, coding develops and enhances problem solving, planning and mathematical thinking. Coding is the language of maths. Imagine coding being taught in every school? Learning to program involves a multitude of skills including organizing and analyzing data. Children can enhance their math skills while coding, without even realizing it. Using their logic and calculation skills while creating something of their own can make maths more engaging and fun. Another big reason coding should be taught in schools. This skill set will assist kids’ in their academic lives.
Coding Is The Future
When you look at how the world is developing, coding is an extremely useful skill to possess. There are an increasing number of businesses who rely on computer code, not just those in the technology sector.
Children who learn to code will have the advantage in life with more employment opportunities available to them in the future, no matter which industry they decide to enter whether it be in the technology sector, finance, retail, health or other. This is an important reason why coding should be taught in schools.
As Bill Gates once said, “Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains.” Learning how to code won’t necessarily turn kids into professional programmers nor into billionaires like Bill Gates; however, it indeed teaches them much-needed skills that will help them in a variety of academic and life choices in today’s hyper-competitive digital era.
MIchel
I had no idea coding had so many benefits for children, including helping them to communicate better and to improve their problem-solving skills. I also had no idea that children could learn this more easily than an adult can.
Computers and technology are definitely here to stay, and equipping your child with these skills can only help them in the future when it comes to finding a job. Especially now that we are getting to the stage where nobody is without some sort of device that can dial into the world wide web.
Leslie
Hi Michel, thank you for your comments.
How do we succeed in empowering young children to be the best they can be today and always? Education and teaching of course. As the leadership figures in our kids’ lives, we want to prepare them for the challenges of life so they may succeed and thrive in and beyond school.
Louise
Hi Leslie
What a fascinating article. Who would’ve thought that so many benefits would result from learning how to code!
What age would be best for children to start learning how to code? Also, with it not being a mainstream subject at schools currently, where would you recommend children start studying code now?
Blessings
Louise
Leslie
Hi Louise
Thank you for stopping by.
Kids can start learning to code as young as 8years old.
Unfortunately, coding is not currently part of mainstream curriculum standards but hopefullly education trends start moving towards that goal.
I personally recommend this online service to get kids started with coding.
Best Wishes
Leslie
Kwidzin
Children most certainly have the most active and fertile minds and its a great time in their live to learn stuff like this. Afterall, coding plays a big part in the future of technology and therefor a part of everyone’s lives. S its most definitely a skill worth investing in as a youngster.
Leslie
Hi Kwidzin
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Coding and programming affects all our lives everyday.
Teaching this skill set to kids will bode well for their future employment oppoprtunities.