Why is it important for every child to learn to code in school?
If you are planning to set your child up for academic success already, you should introduce him to coding. Coding for children not only helps improve their writing and mathematics skills but also ensures them valuable skills that they use in life and eventually in their professional careers. There is a number of reasons why it is important for your child to learn coding during their formative years. The earlier they learn, the better their chances are at succeeding in life both academically and professionally.
What is coding?
Coding, simply put, is a way of communicating with the computer. It is a language that has been invented to communicate with the computer and make it function according to our needs and commands. Coding enables us to develop things, such as websites, video games, and computer software.
There are a number of different codes based on what you will want to develop. Different programming languages have their own set of rules; however, coding is basically to give instructions to a computer so it generates desired outcomes.
Introduce your children to coding
Before we jump to discussing why every child needs to learn to code, let’s focus on how you can teach your kid coding when they have the least idea about it. Well, on this date, parents don’t necessarily need to have a degree in software engineering to teach their kids coding. There are many schools and independent educational institutes who are nowadays teaching STEM education, software engineering, entrepreneurship and many such courses to children in order to prepare them for what’s coming next.
Below are the key reasons why coding is imperative for today’s children to learn –
Coding helps kids learn how to solve problems
Understanding how computers work and learning the basics of computer programming help kids develop a mere appreciation of how all other things work in life. It also teaches them how software developers make the most of maths as they prepare to solve a problem in a creative and logical way. This is a significant reason why coding must be introduced to kids in schools. The ability to solve a problem is a feature used in life, typically. You sure will want your kids to become a humble and smart problem-solver. Learning to code will surely help with your kid’s cognitive development in that direction.
Coding gives children a challenge and also aids them with resilience
When kids learn to code, they develop an ability to stand back tall after a failure. They realise that failure isn’t after all a bad thing. In fact, it is just one step towards success. This is one of the key reasons why children must learn how to code as they grab the entire concept of coding faster than an adult and utilise their learning in a more efficient way once they are grown up and into the workforce. When your kids will fail and try again to solve a problem, they will learn from their mistakes. Coding allows kids to try time and again until they finally succeed in something.
Coding helps your kids think in a creative way
As Steve Jobs once said — “A computer is a bicycle for your mind.” Learning to code helps them think differently than others. Computer programming is not only about teaching them how to write a line of codes, it is more about putting them in a situation where they need to push their cognitive limits to come up with a logical solution for a problem. They will learn how to see a large problem and be able to break it down to solve it in an effective manner. This is known as decomposition and a key trait of computational thinking.
Kids learning to code use their creative side of the brain to turn ideas into something useful and effective. In case their first solution has failed, they will learn to not give up, but come up with a better solution anyway.
Software programming/coding is the future
Technological advancements have been transforming the world drastically. Computer programming is doing wonders and it’s no surprise to anyone. If you want your kids to shine in their careers, you must introduce them to coding during their formative years.
In the process of discovering their passion and interests, they will only learn. This is why we advise you to introduce your kids to acquiring digital skills like coding, electronics, mobile app development, web development, and digital arts while they are young.
