5 reasons your child should learn to code
Coding is not just for future computer scientists; it teaches problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills that can benefit your child in all areas of life. Whether your child dreams of creating video games, building apps, or just loves technology, learning to code can open doors to countless opportunities.
Here are five compelling reasons why every parent should consider introducing their child to the world of coding.
1. Coding teaches problem-solving skills
Fixing something that has a niggle, improving a programme or bringing an idea to life – every coding project starts with solving a problem. When kids write code, they continually solve errors that come up, which is called debugging. By doing this consistently, they develop a problem-solving framework that leads them to a fix every time – a framework they can apply to any area of life:
The IDEAL framework is structured to enhance children’s problem-solving skills and critical thinking. It stands for Identify, Define, Explore, Act, and Look back. This method encourages children to systematically tackle challenges by breaking them down into manageable steps. By integrating the IDEAL framework into everyday activities, parents and educators can help children develop essential skills that will benefit them throughout their academic journey and beyond.
IDEAL
I — Identify the problem
Look around and find out what the problem is.
D — Define an outcome
Decide what you want to happen. If there are many steps, break them into smaller goals.
E — Explore possible strategies
Think of different ways to solve the problem. Use your imagination!
A — Anticipate the outcomes and act
Think about what might happen with each idea. Choose the best one and try it out.
L — Look and learn
See what happened after you tried your idea. Learn from what worked and what didn’t.
2. Coding develops logical reasoning skills and critical thinking
It is important for children to understand that they can solve a problem and explain how and why they solved it that way. Logical reasoning skills encourage children to think for themselves, develop their own theories, question assumptions and test their theories against facts. When they are coding a game, the computer processes each step of the game. Every game has game logic – this is one way to practise logical reasoning in coding. They build on these skills with every project and transfer them to other challenges and situations.
There are often many paths to get to a solution. Critical thinking skills help us to choose the best path. This involves questions such as ‘Which path is the best one?’, ‘Which path is good enough?’, ‘How long does each of those paths take?’, ‘What are the unintended consequences of both the paths?’. Children have to ask and answer these questions every time they code and see how small changes affect their code and the results they want.
Logical and critical thinking takes practise, and success is achieved only by doing, failing, correcting, and questioning.
3. Coding teaches attention to detail
Coding requires a lot of attention to detail. Details are important because one wrong semicolon or space can be the difference between a working programme and hours of debugging.
Debugging also requires attention to detail. The debugger must look through individual lines of code to spot and correct errors. It takes a sharp eye to catch bugs on the first try.
4. Coding skills can lead to better job prospects
The job market’s need for workers with coding skills continues to grow as many aspects of daily life become digital.
According to the Government, the UK will need over 1.9 million STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professionals, including in computing and engineering, by 2035.
This does not mean that your child will have to become a programmer. Many jobs that don’t directly involve coding benefit from coding knowledge. For example, kids interested in biology can use their coding skills in bioinformatics (working with biology data, such as DNA).
5. Coding demands concentration
Concentration is difficult in a world full of distractions. But it increases mental performance and is strengthened through practice, and practising it regularly improves learning.
Coding is mentally challenging and allows children to practice and develop their ability to focus. It can sometimes take hours to accomplish a single task in a programme, and during this time they will need complete mental focus to try to solve the problem.
Their time coding will involve thinking through problems and building cognitive skills. Over time, this practice will help them sustain focus and memory in all areas.
