Online coding classes or coding courses for kids have been gaining a lot of traction over the past few years. Even before the pandemic happened, parents and even self-taught coders have turned to coding for kids programs to learn about programming and coding languages like Python, Java, Ruby, and many more.
Aside from the convenience of learning-from-home, online coding classes also offer tons of benefits, from gaining crucial soft skills to gearing kids towards a more lucrative career in IT and tech.
If you are still in doubt, here are some of the many benefits that you can get from enrolling your kid in any online coding classes.
Broaden their Horizons
As most of us (former students) already know, learning is not confined within the four walls of the classroom. Your kid can learn and acquire new skills if you open up more possibilities and let them expand their horizons.
In an article published by the University of North Carolina, the curriculum model or learning beyond the classroom is said to invoke commitment to holistic learning. Even though it’s worth pointing out that the article was centered on college students, we can still learn a lot from it and apply the study’s insights when it comes to teaching our kids.
Rather than rely on traditional classes or after-school tutoring, you can empower and amplify your kids’ potential without putting too much burden on them.
Through online coding classes, they can study the learning materials at their own pace. Given that most online programs are not merit-based, your kid would have more time to absorb all the information. They even have time to use and apply that same information in their other projects as well.
Lucrative Skill
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment growth in tech is faster than the average for all occupations. In fact, the federal agency projected it to grow by 10 percent from 2020 to 2030. Even more so, the median annual average for computer and IT occupations is almost twice the median annual average for all other occupations.
So by simply allowing your kids to learn coding and programming, you would also be job equipping them for the many years to come. With that said, it is never a bad idea to enroll your kids in any online coding program classes these days.
Digital Literacy
Coding is the new literacy.
Besides coding being a lucrative skill, it has also made its way towards other occupations and industries as well. Nowadays, having coding and programming skills does not only mean getting a job in the tech industry. Almost all businesses and industries now use a computer or some sort of tech that uses complex programming or coding languages. With that said, many companies today have required their employees and recruits to at least have a basic understanding of how coding and programming works.
This means that even if your kids would not pursue or continue a career track in tech, they can always make use of their coding and programming skills in other areas or industries.
Nurture their Patience
Learning how to code is never an easy path. Most of the time, it is all about trial and error.
With that said, your kid is guaranteed to hit a few roadblocks along the way once he starts writing text-based codes like Javascript, Python, Ruby, Java, and others.
Through this trial and error process, your kids would gain better patience and be more persistent to solve and debug any problem in their projects. Aside from that, they would also learn that problems are transient, and facing them doesn’t always have to be frustrating. Your kid would realize that there are far better and more logical ways to solve problems or conflicts.
Conclusion
Forget the idea that learning how to code requires advanced math skills.
With coding for kids programs, even kids as little as 8-year old can now learn the basics and fundamentals of coding.
This just goes without saying that coding has become an important skill that everyone can now learn, even from the comfort of their own home. It’s just a matter of picking the right program for your kid and helping them stay consistent all throughout the entire learning process.