If you can read, you can code. The average age for learning to code is about 7, but it’s possible to get them started earlier. Is your child ready?
If you think back over your child’s life to this point, they’ve probably had the presence of a screen nearby for the majority of it. They grow up with tiny computers in their hands before they can even crawl, and they master those computers and screens before we even realize they have.
You’ll never be more surprised by a child than when you realize that the child whose diapers you change and still hasn’t mastered asking for lunch has managed to buy a year’s subscription of their favorite streaming service for $99 on your account. You might also find yourself rather shocked the first time they school you at a video game before they even stop needing you to cut the crusts off their sandwiches.
Our kids have more access and exposure to video games, smartphones, tablets, computers, and other electronics than any generation before them and more than we probably envisioned when we were growing up. Naturally, some of our children express an interest in learning how to create what they see and use. This is known as coding or programming.
So, if you have a first grader with aspirations of being a videogame designer or computer programmer, you may want to learn more to know how to help them. They aren’t too young to dream, and parents aren’t too old to learn.
What is coding? What age is appropriate for learning to code? Can coding help your child in other ways? How do you get your child started in coding? Let’s explore it together.
Coding is the technique behind computer programming and development. Most people don’t realize this, but coding is a creative process. Coding is how we use computer programming languages to give the computer instructions on executing different actions. Think of it as art. Coding language draws the lines that make the pictures come to life.
When you get down to the basics of coding, it’s just a computer programming language strung together in a series of commands. They boil down to inputs and outputs, actions and reactions, if this then that.
We see small complex computers so much that we forget that there are other simple computers around us. For example, the convenient box that you put leftovers in to heat them up in the kitchen is a computer, and you’ve been entering code for years. That’s right. When you input the time for heating up your lunch, that’s coding. The microwave’s computer supplies the output and heats your food for the specified time.
Most of our interactions with coding are done through user interfaces. Keypads, typing on our keyboards, and touchscreens all help us input commands and codes. The actual coding language is done for us by developers and programmers. But, what if you could make the computers you deal with perform tasks differently to suit your preferences?
Learning to code opens up the ability to make computers have the output you prefer. Imagine being able to tell your microwave to gently say that your food is ready instead of beeping at you when your food has finished heating. That’s what coding can do.
When you know how to code, you can create solutions to the problems you see in the world around you. Teaching our kids to code at an early age can empower them to make change happen.
Children as young as seven years old are capable of learning programming basics and coding. Seven is a guideline because most children can read by age 7, but it’s possible for some children at younger ages.
You may have noticed that the popularity of coding is growing every day. With no sign on the horizon that computers are going anywhere any time soon, a child that learns to code at an early age will have a solid problem solving foundation that will set them up for a bright and promising future.
Coding can help your child “program” their life to open up opportunities for success. Coding for children is typically taught under the guidance of a game. Like so much of the learning your child does in life, they think they’re playing. They look like they’re playing, but they’re learning. They’re always learning. Coding for kids taps into that play learning and teaches the basic beginner’s concepts of coding.
Why not tap into your child’s love of video games and allow them to learn things most of your peers don’t even know? Sharing your child’s game on social media that they programmed themselves? That’s a parenting flex.
We all want the best careers and future for our children, and it’s not an exaggeration that coding can prepare your child for the job opportunities that will be available to them when they grow up. However, coding can do more than that. Coding can help your child while they’re still a child. Here’s how:
There are very few opportunities to allow your child to be creative while also teaching them logic-based skills. What sounds so technical to some becomes easy, fun, and rewarding for children who code. In addition to these basic fundamentals, your child will be learning a skill that is in high demand.
Remember that your child learns best through play. There are so many fun activities, like watching cartoons, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or even playing a game of duck-duck-goose that can help introduce your child to basic coding concepts.
Below, we’ve included some examples of fun activities that can help your child get started with coding:
Before introducing coding concepts, your child needs to have an idea of what coding is. Coding is all around us, from the animated shows that your child loves to watch on Saturday mornings to the microwave counting down to zero as you heat up their favorite snack!
Seeing the application of coding in the things that interest them is a great way to build a basic understanding of the concept. Discuss the coding that goes on behind the scenes of their favorite video game, or talk about how coding helps power robots. Before you've even mentioned Mac or Linux, your child will understand the wide range of ways they could apply web development skills. You and your child can find the coding in your daily lives together.
Spend time with your child watching videos or finding age-appropriate materials to help them understand the concept of coding as it relates to the things they love the most.
Something as simple as making a snack can help introduce your children to coding concepts. For example, you can introduce your kids to the idea of sequencing by making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich together.
Sit down with your child and start by making the sandwich incorrectly—placing jelly and peanut butter on a plate, then putting the slices of bread on top. Have your child explain what went wrong and the correct order of events to make the sandwich, going through the process while showing how the order in which you perform tasks can matter.
Sometimes, sequencing out of order will produce less-than-ideal results, like a lump of peanut butter and jelly topped with bread. Other times, slight deviations in the sequence like putting peanut butter on bread after jelly (or vice versa) still produce a yummy sandwich.
We’ve been teaching the concept of a “loop” to children using duck-duck-goose since before coding was invented. Children sit in a circle, and one child moves around that circle in a loop, until they choose to break the circle by choosing a “goose.”
Whoever is the goose has to run around the circle and reclaim their seat before the child who is “It” can catch up to them. If the child who was “It” can tag the “goose,” that goose becomes “It.”
Of course, many of us understand how the game duck-duck-goose is played without knowing basic coding concepts. While you play duck-duck-goose, you can explain to your children that a “loop” in coding is a task that is performed continuously—like, for example, saying “duck”—until a user prompts the task to stop—like choosing a “goose.”
Once your child has started to understand what coding is and why it’s cool, fun programming courses and programs like Codeverse are there to help your child put their interest into action. The fun is built-in, and your child can start to build their coding concept foundation. Instead of feeling like a game design course with assignments for each hour of code, your child can learn code blocks, loops, and variables all while playing games they'll love. Your kids will have tons of fun while discovering a new world of opportunity through coding.
If a child can read, then they can code! With the right personalized learning experience, lessons, and video tutorials, any child that can read can be well on their way to becoming a coder. Whether they're interested in Java or HTML5, iOs or Android, learning to code can be fun for the whole family. If you or your child is interested in coding, it’s important to know what coding is, know what it can do for your child, and understand when and how to get started. Take advantage of the resources available to you, and you can foster your child's creativity, inspire a new game designer or tech CEO in the family, and set your child onto a good path with a bright future.
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