10 Reasons Your Child Needs Coding Skills
Coding is more than the high-stress keyboard smashing of blockbuster action movies that the early 90’s showcased, it’s an integral piece of many items and systems we use in our everyday lives. And learning to code doesn’t necessarily mean your child is lining up for a career in software development. Coding is the language of the future, and here are ten reasons your child will benefit from learning about it now:
1. Make Math Exciting Again
Solving word problems like “Timmy has X amount of apples but meets y amount of friends along the way so how many apples does Timmy have left’ just aren’t cutting it in the classroom anymore. Coding provides a real world application of math that students relate to. It also allows them to see results in real time which keeps students much more engaged. Coding provides an exciting awareness of how math is used all around them in their everyday lives, and may help to spark a passion for the subject instead of avoidance or fear.
2. Improved Problem Solving Skills
Problem solving skills are some of the most important skills your child can develop. Whether in our private or professional lives, problem solving is something we humans do all day, every day. Coding provides the opportunity to strengthen these critical thinking muscles by presenting both simple and complex issues that require creative problem solving skills to resolve.
3. Creative Screen Time
Screen time is a concern for many parents these days, though we understand that screen time is a part of life for this generation. But did you know that there are certain types of screen time that are better than others? Coding class is a great use of screen time as it engages kids in creative activities that challenge their critical thinking skills and strengthen their problem solving abilities.
4. Persisting Perseverance
Coding is a fun but certainly challenging hobby. Both block based and tech based coding come with their share of frustrations and failures. Children learn resilience and the determination to not give up when they are testing and correcting coding so that their visions will come to life on their screen just how they imagined.
5. Go Behind the Gaming Curtain
Kids spend many screen hours playing games of all types, and that can lead to a log of passive screen time, the least beneficial kind. Coding can pull back the curtain and allow kids to learn how their favorite games were made. Once kids realize that they have the ability to create things like their favorite games, they’ll want to spend time building their own games and programs.
6. Boost Communication Skills
During coding class, kids learn to communicate their ideas and their coding process through different challenges and projects set by their teachers. This improves their overall ability to communicate their creative thoughts and ideas as well as improving their ability to effectively communicate via online tools like Zoom and Google Meet, both tools used in many classrooms.
7. Build Collaborative Minds
Coding classes allow students to work together to build different kinds of games and programs. Working together with their teachers or their peers helps them to be a successful team player and to understand the dynamics of working in a group.
8. Coding Confidence is the Best Confidence
Knowing that you can create something amazing with just the power of your brain is a huge confidence booster for kids. Once they get the hang of coding and create something that they came up with on their own they’ll feel like they can do anything. A confident kid is a powerful force!
9. Feeding Curiosity
Once kids learn coding basics they’ll have a good understanding of what makes a lot of things in our world tick. This unlocks a whole new world of curiosity and exploration for them as they see code working in many aspects of their daily lives.
10. Getting Future-Ready
Getting kids fluent in the language of the future will help them to successfully adapt to and thrive in whatever the future has in store. Coding will be one of the most universally used languages in the future and understanding it will open up a lot of doors and opportunities for our kids when they’re ready to pursue their passions.
Technology changes nearly as fast as kids outgrow their shoes. With new devices and tech hitting the market every day, your child’s future will be totally different than anything we’ve ever seen before. Download our free Guide to Raising Future-Ready Kids for more tips and information on how you can start preparing your kids to tackle the tech focused future now.