4 Reasons You Should Teach Kids Coding Skills

When they are on school holidays at home probably the last thing your kids want to do is learn something. However, they could spend a little time each day learning computer coding. It requires almost no time at all to learn and there are programs that make this seemingly adult skill a lot of fun for kids. If you need any reasons to reinforce your enforced learning of this skill with your kids, refer to the following reasons.

Coding Is a Major Career Path

Coding is a major career path. If one or more of your kids appear to have an aptitude for computers and technology, you should encourage them to look at coding. They would be learning a major computer skill that leads to high paying jobs just by itself. If in the future your kids move on from coding to other computer skills, such as programming and applications development. Coding is the base skill for all of the above.

Most adults who learn this skill at a young age go on to make about thirty dollars an hour. That’s pretty significant in terms of wages and is on par with what most registered nurses and similar professionals make. If you have a kid that likes computers and is easily motivated by money, consider telling him/her what he/she could earn if he/she learns coding and continues on this career path.

Coding Is Easy to Learn

Coding is easy to learn, especially with the various types of programs that are available to kids. They can learn to code with their favorite computer games (e.g., Minecraft, Fortnite), with robots and robotic Lego systems, and even fully interactive AI systems. To get an idea of what programs are available, check out this article.

In this way, coding is made to be fun, almost a game and tests a kid’s ability to problem-solve. Kids are naturally curious about cause and effect, which is what occurs when they learn to code. They are creating parameters to make a set of actions occur. When the set of programmed actions goes as expected, kids are elated. When it doesn’t work, kids have to figure out why and fix the errors in their coding.

Kids Learn More Than Just How to Code

Not surprisingly, there is a lot more to coding than just typing in a series of computerized steps. Kids learn that mistakes in coding cause problems, or create a situation where it is impossible to get the desired result. When there are errors in coding, kids learn how to problem-solve, rewrite the code, and keep rewriting the code until the problem is resolved. Kids also learn that even the smallest changes in code writing can make a very big difference in how their coding results turn out.

In addition to problem solving skills, kids learn to come at a problem from a different angle. They learn a sort of “tech creativity” that challenges how they think about a problem and how it may be resolved in a way they didn’t expect. Thinking outside the proverbial box is key with any tech career, which is why coding is the perfect place to start.

Coding for Kids Is an Investment in Their Future

As with anything educational, coding programs for kids are an investment in their future. Every penny you put into a fun coding program for your kids can bring them one step closer to self-discovery and a better understanding of the world around them. They can really learn a lot about themselves from doing something like this and seeing it to the successful end.

If you invest in a coding program that requires that one child get help from another child, then you also teach them how to depend on each other for support. They learn cooperation, a skill they will definitely need as adults in the workforce. Two brains working together to resolve a problem is a common scenario in the adult world, leading to a better understanding of social interaction.

You should also know that coding programs for kids are sometimes free. The most that any of these programs cost is a couple hundred dollars and those typically involve the fully interactive robots. If robots are not quite your kid’s (kids’) thing, choose a different program which may be more affordable for you and more interesting for your children.

The Future of Technology and Related Careers

The future of technology is that it is constantly advancing, growing and changing for the better. Three decades ago, a computer was a huge clunky thing that required a rolling office cart to move around. Now people carry computers in the palms of their hands. Your children have never known a world without computers, and their children may not know what it is to write on paper with a pen or pencil!

That said, it is important to help your kids keep up with these changes in technology. It is important to help them understand the value of learning something like coding. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presents a clear-cut picture of the expected growth in these careers in the coming decades, and what it means for career choices overall. By getting your kids started on a coding project this summer, you are getting them started on a lifelong connection to technology that will never, ever not be part of their lives.

Who knows? Maybe computers will one day become so small that it will require someone with advanced coding skills to make them work. Someone with advanced skills has to start somewhere and that somewhere could be right now. You could even sit and learn along with them since you invested in the course and should learn some of it in case they get stuck and can’t figure it out. It may even direct you to a computer-related career if you find that you have an aptitude for this type of thing as well.