Busting the Myths Around Coding for Kids
Teachers, educators, and parents are working on empowering kids with 21st Century skills to make them future-ready. The most important of these skills is “coding”. Research has put coding at the forefront as one of the future skills for children. Learning to code at an early age helps children to develop problem-solving skills, improve creativity and improve their attention.
Coding for kids could provide them with many opportunities to be involved in creative and logical thinking, planning, and developing a problem-solving mindset. A study in the US that looked into the “effects of programming on cognitive outcomes” in 1991 showed that students who have experience in computer programming scored 16% higher on cognitive ability tests than the students who didn’t have the experience.
Back in the day, there were only a handful of households with computers that looked like big, bulky boxes. That opportunity to learn to code was only available to a few, unlike today when every household has at least one smartphone or computer.
As parents, we are also aware that there are many things that have been said about exposing your children to technology at a very early age. There are still some myths surrounding it when it comes to teaching coding at a young age. Well, those are just myths, and we debunk five of these common myths below.
Myth 1
Coding will take my child’s attention away from actual studies and increase their screen time.
“How will coding help my kid in studies?”“I am worried about my how long my kids stay online. Will learning to code increase their screen time?”
These questions are the most often asked questions by parents.
Truth:
The time required for children to learn how to code can be easily controlled and monitored. Usually, about 4-5 hours in a week (that’s just about an hour a day!) is enough for your kids to try and learn to code. You can easily manage that from the time they spend watching videos or playing online games. More importantly, the time they spend in coding is considered as time spent on learning.
Learning to code won’t take your child’s attention away from their actual studies, but can, in fact, help them with it. When kids learn to code, they also learn how to think logically. Coding requires them to break down complex problems into smaller ones and finds a solution to them.
When kids can create something from coding, they see the outcome instantly, which is motivating for them to continue learning more. Children, therefore, are encouraged to find many ways to solve a problem when they code which increases their creativity and improves problem-solving skills.
Read here how coding help your kids off from screen addiction.
Myth 2
Coding is only for the super-intelligent kids who are good at Math and Science
Here’s one of the most common misconceptions about coding : people think that children can only learn how to code when they’re getting high grades in Math or Science.
Truth:
While it is true that the foundation of coding is built on algorithms, your child doesn’t have to be a math or science whiz with a high IQ to learn to code. Basic math skills and a having problem-solving attitude and ability is all one needs to be a good coder.
Coding is just like learning a new language which your kid learns by understanding basic syntax and grammar rules and then gradually improving their vocabulary to become good at it.
In general, you don’t even have to have a formal education at all. There are many free resources available and games are used to teach the basics of coding.
Minecraft and Roblox are a couple of games that teach coding for kids.
Myth 3
There’s little to no human interaction with coding
Some parents are afraid that if their child becomes involved in coding that they would lose their social skills. This is untrue.
Truth:
One thing about web developers is the culture of knowledge sharing, meaning they work together and communicate with peers to help each other collaborate on projects. This is the same with teaching code for kids. There are after-school programs that offer to code for kids that can be done online or face to face. You can enrol them in after-school care and extra-curricular activities like children coding school, programming classes for kids and robotics classes for kids.
Myth 4
Young girls should not learn to code.
Truth:
There is a misconception influenced by religion, culture, or tradition that young girls should not learn to code because it is a man’s job. In some places, girls are discriminated against for being girls taking a man’s job. It also happens in many other industries that are mostly dominated by men like engineering, architecture, Information Technology or construction.
But this is now changing. More and more women are choosing male-dominated industries as their profession. What better way to empower our young girls than to start them early? The small percentage of women in the IT profession should not discourage you from allowing your daughter to learn how to code.
Read more why you should let your daughter learn to code.
Myth 5
Kids cannot learn how to code at an early age
Truth:
Kids learn the fastest when they are between 5 to 12 years old. The best way for them to learn is to enrol them in coding classes for kids.
People around the world are discussing whether coding should be included in the education system’s regular curriculum or not. There is no age barrier to learning how to code. You can teach an old person just as you can teach a child to code.
Coding is the perfect practice to build a creative mind. There are a lot of programs specially made for children. Most of these apps combine coding and games which makes them more appealing to kids. These interactive, playful programs are not boring to children.
Now that we’ve busted 5 of the most common myths around coding for kids, this should open your mind to try coding for your children.
Sign up your child’s name to Skill Samurai, a kids coding and robotics class for kids ages seven to 18. It will help your child learn coding and other programming skills while using their screen time wisely. It will let your child involve themselves in learning rather than just playing.
Skill Samurai also offers fun, compelling, and interactive activities that your kid will surely love.
If you wish to begin today, get started here.