Why should your child learn to code?

With the New Education Policy changing all the norms of education in our country, the pattern of learning for kids will change too. Instead of focussing on English, regional languages are promoted. But among all the changes, one subject that is brought most in focus is coding. Coding most definitely is an appreciated skill to have in the 21st century, especially with the technological growth in all sectors of employment. 

What is Coding?

Coding is giving instructions to a computer to produce an outcome or perform a specific task. The browser, OS, the apps on your phone, Facebook, and our website; is all coding. When children learn to code, it manifests their skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.

Children can begin to learn coding from a very early age. Coding for kids is the collection of opportunities that can help children learn the basics of coding. They are fun and interactive to help them grow an interest in the future’s safest profession. 

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When should your kid learn to code?

Kids can learn to code at a very young age. They can start it as early as preschool. At age 5, kids can learn the essential concepts of coding. 

5 coding concepts that 5 year-olds can understand are

• Algorithm- It is an instruction given to accomplish a certain task and obtain the desired result. 
• Sequence- It is completing a task in a particular order.
• Loops- They are the instructions that keep on repeating until you stop.
• Decomposition- Is is the breaking down of problems into small and easier steps.
• Branching- It is making a decision based on what is and has happened.

Why Coding?

Benefits of learning to code

• Coders are in high demand- In the coming years, to make everything digitalised, coding is, especially in high demand. 
• Coding provides better career opportunities- It is a promising career and people are switching their professions to coding to earn better salaries in big companies that have only opened their gates for excellent coders.
• Coding provides a competitive edge when applying to colleges and jobs- If your child possesses qualities such as the ability to code they are instantly proving themselves to be an asset. They will appear more beneficial and acceptable to potential college admissions officers and employers other than those who just have a single skill and not that of coding. 
• Coding is fun and satisfying and it facilitates creativity- While programming is technical and logic-based, it is furthermore an extremely imaginative and productive activity. When they learn how to code, they can develop apps, video games, websites, and anything they want to. 
• Coding develops communication skills- Communication is an essential skill everywhere in all phases of life. People who can communicate their ideas and thoughts in simple terms tend to be successful. When kids learn how to code, they learn how to interact with the most simple-minded audience that is a computer. Computer coding teaches kids how to interact with the computer to transfer their ideas and get the desired response back.
• Coding improves collaboration- Every student can learn, and communicate. But in coding, kids meet and collaborate with many different people, sharing a common interest in technology. Kids learning online can also grow by asking others questions and working together to resolve obstacles and building and designing things together. Minecraft is a game where people all around the world come together to play, code and do different things online. 

Programming language

To converse with a computer,  a person needs to speak in terms it understands, which is the programming language.  A programming language is made up of its own set of lexicons and set of rules. There are multiple programming languages; all with different rules and use cases. The difference is that each language has its own unique syntax (grammatical structure) and semantics (definition).  

Scratch programming

Scratch is an MIT-developed graphical programming language, for kids of ages 8-16  to easily learn to create interesting stories, comics, and more.  Scratch programming is popular for kids because instead of using lines of code, kids learn colourful command coding blocks and things that they can easily do. Without even coding, kids can program statements and develop ideas by scratch programming. 

Make your kids learn coding at home

There are many scratch-based online coding classes for kids. They can learn coding at the comfort of home with your help. 

Introduction to programming is an online course which can prove to be extremely beneficial for your kids who want to begin learning how to code.

With the NEP, kids will be made to learn coding from class 6th and it is necessary to teach your kids some basics of coding before they get scared of it in school. 

Coding as rightly said is the building block of the technology that will change today and the future. It has become necessary for kids to learn how to code. With the correct guidance and starting at the right age, coding can become fun for your kids. It will increase their creativity and skills which will only prove to be of help for them.