How to Teach Your Child How to Code

Mark Zuckerberg chooses to read books or write code with his daughters before bed, according to his wife, Priscilla Chan in an article with The Times of London.

He’s not the only tech giant who knows the importance of teaching our children how to code. In a video from Code.org, we see Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, and others explaining the benefits of learning to code.

Learning to code is important. It can open many opportunities now and far into the future. How can we teach our children how to write code? Let’s take a look.

Why you should teach your child how to code

Meet Samaira Mehta, a then 9-year-old girl who happens to be the CEO, founder, and inventor of Coder Bunnyz, a STEM-based board game that teaches programming concepts. Samaira has been covered in over 100 media outlets, including The Washington Post, CNBC, Business Insider, and many more. Her product generated over $200,000 in revenue between April 2018 – April 2019.

We also have Hillary Yip, another 10-year-old girl who built a startup, and became CEO and founder of MinorMynas, an educational app that allows children to learn languages.

Fascinating, right?! These are just two examples of the ways in which teaching your child how to code can bring massive results. Children are far more creative than us adults, and if we give them the tools to code, they’re bound to create something life-changing.

Money isn’t the only answer, of course. The benefits of teaching your child how to code are quite endless, but we’ll limit them to the seven below:

1. Increases Problem-Solving Skills.
2. Improves Computational Thinking.
3. Encourages Perseverance.
4. Teaches Creativity.
5. Teaches Digital Literacy.
6. Career-Building Skill.
7. Develops Confidence

1. Increases Problem-Solving Skills

When you code, you must give the computer a strict set of instructions, it will do exactly what you tell it to do. Learning how to code requires a logical way to think about things. No human is perfect, we all make mistakes.

Making mistakes is good – it’s how we develop our minds and learn. It allows us to find solutions to problems. Your child is no different, and they might even benefit more from making mistakes, as their ability to learn is far greater than ours.

2. Improves Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is a mental skill which allows us to apply concepts, methods and problem-solving techniques to solve problems in every area of our life. There is no better way to do this than learning how to write code. Giving our child these skills early in life will allow them to excel in all areas of their life as they grow, especially in school.

3. Encourages Perseverance

Writing code can be quite difficult. There are numerous problems that can (and will!) occur throughout the process. However, if you really want to build something, you’re going to find ways to do it. Those problems will be overcome, again and again, ad infinitum.

Children do not give up so easily! Think of them playing a video game. They may have to restart numerous times, but they usually figure it out. Likewise, while they’re coding, they will surely find themselves stuck in situations in which they have to overcome.

4. Teaches Creativity

There are many problems in our life. We can solve a lot of them with some creativity and our coding abilities. Recall the story above about Samaira. She wanted to help other children learn coding concepts, so she built a board game!

5. Teaches Digital Literacy

Imagine being unfamiliar with any of the technology on our planet right now. How would you pay your bills? Check the weather? Find the phone number to your favorite pizzeria? Of course, you can figure all of this out, but how much easier is it to just type the search query into Google, receiving instant results?

We admit, not much digital literacy is needed to do a Google search, but it’s definitely an important skill.

6. Career-Building Skill

The overall employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 15 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. From 3D printers, to mobile apps, to robots, to drones that deliver pizza, teaching your child how to code will ensure they have skills that are going to be necessary in the future.

7. Develops Confidence

When you write code, and it works, you might feel clever. When it doesn’t work, and you’re faced with a bug, you might become frustrated. However, if you think the problem through, you’ll eventually find a solution. There’s no greater feeling than solving a code-related problem, and it will definitely increase your child’s confidence when faced with other problems throughout their life.

The Best Learning Resources

We’ve explored the benefits of teaching your child how to code. Maybe the stories of Samaira and Hillary have motivated you. Either way, we’re sure that you agree by now the importance of it.

How can I teach my child how to code?

We’ve gathered the best resources for you to teach them!

Computer Science Kits

Base Kit Computer Coding for Kids 8-12

GREAT STEM GIFT: Coding for kids 8+ has never been easier! Perfect for boys & girls interested in science, technology, engineering, & math (STEM) - all of which are integrated into this coding toy. Great for teens, too!

Boolean Box Build a Computer Science Kit for Kids

Build a real computer by yourself. Invent electronic gadgets and learn coding using Scratch to create stories, games, and animations. Based on Raspberry Pi 4, the latest version of the Raspberry Pi computer, this kit also includes Python programming projects.

Playz My First Coding & Computer Science Kit

Inspiring young children to learn has never been more fun with this Playz science kits that allows kids to learn about computer science while creating binary necklaces, ancient encryption devices, sorting races, mystery mazes, pixelated pictures & much more! Perfect fun & hands on educational christmas or birthday gift for boys, girls, kids, & teens

IQKidz Robot Building Toys for Kids

Who doesn’t love robots? Lead children to the creative world of coding with the best educational STEM toys. Building, learning, and programming robots kit has never been more fun!

Books

Teach Your Kids to Code: A Parent-Friendly Guide to Python Programming

“Teach Your Kids to Code invigorated my own efforts to teach kids how to code. It made my day!” - Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple

Coding for Kids: Python: Learn to Code with 50 Awesome Games and Activities

“Python is a really powerful programming language with very simple and human-like syntax. Thanks to these advantages and the interactive exercises and games in Coding for Kids: Python, everyone—regardless of age—will be able to understand the power of the language and start using it immediately. I really can’t wait to use some of these examples in our school!”—Marcin Zajkowski, Co-owner of WOW School

Websites

MiniCoders

Minicoders is an educational game-based platform including Apps made for kids with video tutorials, virtual assistant and games where kids learn coding skills while they play.

minicoders.com

Tynker

Tynker is the fun way to learn programming and develop problem-solving & critical thinking skills. Our new bundles include live expert coaching to get your child off to a fast, confident start.

Tynker

KhanAcademy

Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Salman Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students.

KhanAcademy

Have another resource? Feel free to post it in the comments below.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. We may receive a small commission if you purchase any of the books or material from this list (at no additional cost to you).