Reasons Your Child Should Learn To Code

Last week on my twitter feeds, I came across a tweet from a lady, perhaps in her mid 30s. She was making an inquiring where she can start learning how to code. She was torn between seeking a trainer or just logging on various online platforms and start learning.

This reminded me of our one-month boot-camp in 2018 that we taught kids from Kibera basics in programming. There are valuable lessons I picked from the sessions that I really think we need to teach kids coding from early stages of their lives.

Problem-solving will be enhanced

When kids are exposed to coding, they are able to understand how computers work. In return, the basics of coding help children to appreciate the process and know how things work. This helps them develop a positive attitude when faced with challenges that need to be solved. Problem-solving is a skill all children need to help them navigate in life. Learning to code gives children the chance to learn this type of skill.

Coding will teach kids how to think

Unlike our normal education system, kids need to be taught how to think not what to think. Programming helps people to think logically. It cultivates a culture of people able to see things from different perspectives to solve a problem. Kids will be able to see a large problem and break it down into smaller pieces in order to solve it in an effective manner. They will test our different ideas to see which one works. As time goes while they grow up they appreciate diversity and a culture of being able to try out new things to manage a challenge.

Coding makes math fun

Coding is the language of maths. What if coding was taught in every school? Skills such as organization and analysis are involved in programming. This is an easier way to grow kids maths knowledge without even struggling. Kids will apply logic and the basic calculation skills to come up with things, this makes maths fun. Another big reason coding should be taught in schools.

The skills gap in the software industry

There are 54 countries in Africa and all of them have the technology, the internet and the need for programmers. There are a lot of opportunities in these countries in the software industry that needs to be harnessed. The demand for senior software developers is high. If kids start learning code at a tender age, they will become experts early enough hence having a long time to work as they grow up as they get a better pay. Kenya, for one, has an exploding app dev market and startup community and is one of the top ten ICT communities globally.

The future is computer programming

Whether you work in the technology sector or not, you acknowledge that there is no industry that can do without even basic computer skills. There is an increasing number of businesses who rely on computer code, not just those in the technology sector. There will be more employment opportunities regardless of the industry e it medicine, finance, agriculture for kids who will learn to code early in life. All these sectors need at least tech-powered solutions even for non-technical partners or employees who work there.

Coding nurtures other Skills

Coding brings a whole new set of challenges for your child to work through and in doing so it takes determination and builds both resilience perseverance.

Communication skills are improved — if you think about it coding is really another whole language that is learned. Logical communication is taught strengthening both written and verbal skills.

Focus and organization are needed to code and as more complicated code is written your child will be better able to concentrate and develop better organizational skills. This means they will develop an ability to interact with their peers and even learn managing teams.

Children feel empowered and have a sense of pride and belonging when they can code and communicate with the technical world around them. Developing all these new skills and each little success when it comes to coding will build your child’s confidence and self-esteem. They will have the courage to pursue other goals in life, even those that might seem challenging.