Coding for kids is becoming a trend artificially introduced by some companies to generate revenues.
What is coding
Computers are dumb. A computer needs to be instructed correctly to do any task. A computer can not think and do the task. That is where coding comes in place, where the programmer writes instructions to be executed by a computer to perform requested tasks.
What expertise does coding required
An understanding of computer fundamentals is required to write programs. One should be well versed in computer architecture, data structures, algorithms to write better programs.
Do your kid really need to learn to code?
You should ask the following questions first:
- What is your kid’s interest, computer?
- What are his/her strong areas, good at math?
- Want to pursue a career in software development/engineering?
If the answer if all these questions are Yes, then I think your kid can learn to code.
What is the right age for learning to code
Learning a programming language is easy building some toy applications is also easy.
But applying it to solve real-life problems is tough. Building solutions that will be useful needs algorithmic expertise, good computer architecture understanding and good problem-solving skills, and a maths background.
Before learning to code one should know these:
- Know how to use a computer, use various software properly.
- How to Google effectively, know what to search and how.
- Know how to install an operating system
- Know how to use Linux
Ideally, a student in class >= 9 can start learning to code, if she/he has an explicit interest in it. But learning coding should not become a primary goal till the completion of class 12.
Shall I hire a tutor to teach coding
No, you should not hire anyone to teach your kid coding. There are many resources over the web and YouTube to learn to code from experts.
Coding instructors available in platforms such as ByJu, WhitehatJr, Unacademy, Vedantu are the ones who can not get a job in software development companies.
You do not want your kid to learn coding from someone who doesn’t have product development experience.