Coding is one of the most engaging activities for kids and teens in their formative years. Not only is computer programming for kids a fun and exciting task, but it also has immense benefits for the young mind.
Did you know that computer programming enhances creativity, logical thinking, and the ability to focus? This is why schools and educational organizations across the globe incorporate coding for kids as part of their curricula and activity programs. So, let’s take a look at some fun facts about computer programming and kids.
Facts About Coding For Kids
1. Supports Logical Thinking
Logical thinking is no easy task, especially when you are 10 or 12 years old. Seeing and recognizing the relation between cause and effect, abstraction of the involved components and assigning properties to specific events is what computer programming enables kids to do from a very young age. As a result, kids have to exercise their ability to break complex things down to the basics and gain a stronger sense of logic in return.
2. It Nurtures Creativity
Coding is one of the best activities to train young minds to be more creative. Following new instructions on a given project necessitates explorative thinking, brainstorming, and conceptualizing. Computer programming for kids stresses these aspects to translate ideas into code.
3. Detecting Patterns
Structural thinking is about seeing patterns in larger objects concerning the components they are made of. This is a vital skill required in any creative or engineering field. Coding products often involve modular modeling which makes use of smaller blocks to build larger objects. Kids who learn to code are compelled to identify the role of each component in the bigger picture.
4. Teaches Kids To Be At It
Persistence and resilience are the two main keys to success. Coding is one of those activities that can get severely complex and may seem quite challenging at times. There can be moments when a child might feel like giving up, but computer programming for kids actually encourages failure as a vital prerequisite to finally getting the code right.
5. Algorithmic Thinking
Algorithms are like recipes. They are replicable actions that can be executed to arrive at a result. Coding calls for imagining and clearly defining individual steps required to complete a project. The practice to follow a sequence engages a child’s ability for algorithmic thinking.
6. Improves Math Skills
Math skills are important at every walk through the course of life. Kids who learn to code also get to learn math principles along their coding journey. Hence, they get to exercise and practice the abstract principles of conditioning, sequencing, equations, and decomposition.
Read Also: Mathematics and Coding: The Perfect Partnership for Problem-Solving and Logical Thinking
7. Writing And Storytelling Skills
Even though most might think this to be a bit of a stretch, computer programming does make heavy use of language. When one puts bits and pieces of language together in a coherent, sequential manner, they create a story. So, coding is essentially the telling of a story in a language that a computer understands with a plot, a twist, and a conclusion.
8. Enhancement Of Soft Skills
Coding allows for the enhancement of soft skills such as communication, focus, and organization as one needs to discuss intentions with teachers, or parents, and then explain a problem that occurs, and work towards a solution. One needs to determine what needs to be done and set up a sequence, assign roles to execute the sequence, etc. Such activities brush up one’s soft skills to a great extent.
9. Being Passionate
Regular school work and homework can instill a feeling of apathy in youngsters. They need to have a sense of passion for what they love doing. While some may be completely immersed in playing an instrument, other kids might be immersed in developing a code for a video game. Either way, it teaches kids to engage with what they do at a very deep level.
10. Computational Thinking
A child who learns to code has to design functional solutions that follow a decomposition process. Moreover, he/she has to identify commonalities and patterns. As a result, your child tends to start solving problems similar to a computer.
So, enroll your child in a coding class and prepare him for a brighter future.
Read more: The Best Game Development Courses For Kids