Computer Programming for Kids: Coding Courses are the New Piano Lessons

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When children are young, parents often steer them to participate in activities that offer fun and learning in the present to ensure their future success. In years past, those activities might have included piano lessons, ballet, or gymnastics. Today, however, more and more parents are signing their kids up for coding. Even preschoolers are getting a jump on computer programming to prepare for school and the (albeit distant) workplace. An increasing number of parents are starting to find that coding helps develop essential 21st-century skills such as problem-solving, digital literacy, collaboration, organization, perseverance, and confidence.

DIY.org, the largest online interest-based community for kids, offers coding lessons to kids worldwide. “Kids in their formative years are most easily able to think outside the box,” remarks the platform’s cofounder Bhavik Rathod. “It’s imperative to provide them with a space to explore their interests and provide guidance to pick up real-life skills.”

Coding helps with school and academic performance

Coding enables kids to improve in many of their academic subjects. In math, coding helps kids visualize abstract concepts and apply mathematics to a fun format of real-life problem-solving. After all, computer science is built on a foundation of logical problem-solving and core mathematics.

In the area of language arts, coding drives home the importance of precise, concise, and structured writing. While programming, kids see there are multiple ways to enter coding scripts. Over time, they learn the beauty of keeping a language simple, efficient, and error-free.

Coding develops the soft skills kids need in the 21st century

Skills like creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, organization, and confidence don’t always come naturally to kids, but they can be learned. These soft skills are essential to success in school and the workplace, and coding enables kids to acquire them early.

Parents often think about helping their kids develop creativity with music, art, or dance lessons, but left-brain math and science activities rarely come to mind. Nevertheless, as kids experiment with code, they develop a knack for solving tasks creatively. When they become fluent programmers, they use the skills to express their creativity in countless ways. For instance, instead of simply playing video games, they learn how to design and build them. When they encounter a problem, they can then create an app to solve it.

Learning to code helps kids develop confidence, communication skills, and creativity in problem-solving as they step out of their comfort zones, learn new skills, and collaborate with other kids who can help. Soon, they will find themselves in the role of teaching those skills to their friends. “Kids are working together as they learn to code on DIY,” says Rathod. “In fact, several of our kids conduct coding and gaming sessions for other kids on our platform!”

According to Rathod, aside from its practical benefits, coding is simply fun. Gone are the days when coding meant painstakingly learning a computer language following a rigid curriculum with preset outcomes. Kids can now skip to learning exactly what they want: like coding a game, building characters, creating an animated series, and everything else in between. “On DIY, we have created a vibrant environment where kids learn together and from each other and of course, making friends with other kids who share the same interest is extremely rewarding,” Rathod explains.

Coding is the future

Almost every electronic device in today’s world is run by a computer. Smartphones, cash registers, cars, TVs, and traffic light systems are all technologies programmed with code.

Once learned, the applications of coding are limitless. Kids today can aspire to use coding in space exploration, life-saving medical devices, self-driving cars, and security systems. They can envision ways for coding to impact societal problems such as global warming, polluted oceans, and food shortages. Kids who learn to program early will be the pioneers of future technology, as coding is rapidly shaping the future with new apps, robotics, and computing programs.

Every day, more kids around the world are learning to code. Part of this may be due to coding serving as a universal language without borders. “A global community is the ideal place for kids to grow as they learn this universal language,” says Rathod. “For every 10 minutes kids spend learning on the platform, they spend 30 minutes imagining, planning, and implementing what they’ve learned to create something new. We are a space where kids come together to learn new skills, meet friends who share interests from different cultural backgrounds, and inspire each other’s next fun projects.”

Anyone can be a part of this digital future by learning to code. These technologies will collaborate with anyone who takes the time to learn their language. If kids learn now, doors will open in the future.

DIY’s free coding courses can be accessed online at diy.org. To download DIY’s free app from the App Store or Google Play, visit diy.org/download.

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This content is brought to you by Scott Bartnick

Photo provided by the author.

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