Teaching your kids about computers can seem like a mundane to them. But, if you can make learning a skill, such as coding, a fun experience, chances are that they will stick with it. So how can parents make coding more fun than scraping dinner scraps into the garbage? Some of our readers had some recommendations; read them below.
Find a Kid-friendly Coding Program
To motivate your child to get interested in coding, consider enrolling them in a fun kid-friendly coding program. For example, there are multiple virtual coding summer camps available, and students of all ages can also take virtual classes throughout the year. Enrolling them in an age-appropriate program ensures the right level of difficulty, which helps them stay challenged and engaged.
Take a Sample Class
A great way to get your child interested in computer science is to let them take a sample class appropriate for their age and skill. Dozens of online organizations offer short-term classes as an introduction to coding. If your child falls in love with the concept, you can invest in more in-depth (but still age-appropriate) courses to help build their skills.
See Coding in Real-life Scenarios
Instead of framing coding as just another topic to study and work towards, frame it as an engaging and fun activity. Take them to events such as hackathons where they can see coding being used in real-life scenarios and they can mingle with other coders. You can also introduce online tutorials that act as games to make learning more enjoyable.
Explore Free Games Online
There are a lot of fun games for kids designed to help them learn to code. There are free games online, and there are also games you can pay for if your child is getting advanced. Kids often learn much better, and with more open-mindedness, when they can learn and play a game at the same time. It makes goals seem easier to achieve, and it takes a lot of the pressure away from the learning scenario.
Focus on Skills First
To get your kids interested in learning to code or computer science, try to focus on the skills they need first, without even bringing up coding or computer science. Your kids are going to need to know how to problem solve, have a basic understanding of logic, and will need to be good with numbers. All of these skills can be learned through various games and activities that kids are normally interested in. Focus on the skills needed to be able to code first, then show them how those skills will help them excel at coding. Your kids will be creating their own software in no time.
Incorporate Coding in Everyday Activities
● Use Toys and Games. Create fun activities that involve coding and computer science. For example, use a game like Minecraft to encourage children to explore coding concepts while they play.
● Involve Children in Projects. Involve your children in coding and computer science projects. Allow them to participate in programming challenges, coding games, and even coding projects.
● Introduce Coding and Computer Science to Kids. Introduce them to coding and computer science professionals. Show them what successful people in the field look like and what they can do with a coding and computer science degree.
● Incorporate Coding into Everyday Activities. Incorporate coding and computer science into everyday activities. For example, use coding to create a story or create an interactive game that your children can play with friends.
Tap into Your Child’s Passions
● Tap Into Your Child’s Passions. Coding is a process that helps in creating different kinds of programs. You must encourage your child to try something that seems interesting to them.
If your child is a sports fanatic, then you must push them in the direction of building websites that track the stats of every player and team.
You must tap into something which your kid already enjoys doing and then introduce them to the world of coding so that they can bring their ideas to life.
● Emphasizing That Coding Is Equal To Creativity. Besides math, problem-solving, and science knowledge, coding is also about creativity. The stereotypical computer programmers might scare away your child from coding. But if you portray coding as something which creatively makes things come to life – it might help them get interested in coding. Emphasize creativity as it will naturally capture your child’s interest in learning some core programming skills along the way.
Always make sure to keep coding lessons fun and don’t force it onto them.
Troy Portillo
Troy Portillo, Director of Operations of Studypool.
Find Coding Games
Children are almost always more motivated to learn when the learning is incorporated into some kind of a game. When they learn this way, it doesn’t feel like learning they are being graded on, it just feels like fun! So, one of the best ways to motivate your children to learn coding and computer science is by finding learning games for those topics.
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