5 Surprising Reasons Why Your Kids Should Start Learning Code Now

Whether it’s preventing the “summertime slide” or ensuring their kids are developing important skills for future job markets, many parents are united in one thing -- wanting their kids to learn how to code. It’s undeniable that many well-paying jobs in today’s economy are in the tech field, and coding skills are in-demand. But there are some surprising reasons why your kids should learn to code that benefit them in other ways, too.

1. Coding Fosters Creativity

For children who might not love playing with paint, clay, and markers, coding is a mess-free way to explore their creative side and still bring their imagination to life. Coding is easily erased and rewritten when something doesn’t go as planned or when your child wants to change something. One of the best parts about learning to code is the ability to start over again, quickly and easily. Rather than having to erase, crumple up, or paint over a creation, some kids might be more encouraged to persevere and see their creation come to life with the ease of the backspace button.

2. Coding Gives Confidence in the World Around Them

Most of us know a parent or grandparent who could never figure out how to use the remote control for the TV, the latest iPhone, or how to upload pictures to their computer. It’s frustrating for them to feel handicapped by technology, and it’s frustrating for the person trying to explain foreign technology to them. Gen-X parents and even older Millennial parents grew up with little to no access to technology in their childhoods, which created a gap in technology skills.

While many younger kids have grown up with access to tablets, smartphones, and apps, there is still a large population who does not understand the world around them because they don’t have an understanding of code. Learning to code allows kids to better understand the world that is quickly developing around them, from apps to AI to in-demand jobs that hinge on coding abilities. Coding is the architecture of the future, and giving kids the foundational knowledge they need to build their future is vital for their success.

3. Coding Helps Kids to be Resilient

There are many ways to say it, but there is one thing we all know to be true --

Coding is like building with blocks. Programs are created block by block, and if the end result isn’t what you intend for it to be, you simply return back to the blocks. Like a treasure hunt, you look through the blocks for the error. You can edit, remove, or add lines of code to create exactly what you want, but there is a built-in measure of control with code. It can help kids work through the most challenging parts of learning to code and encourage them to keep creating more. Resiliency is a golden key to success in life, no matter what field you’re in. Coding can help kids develop their resiliency from an early age.

4. Coding Helps Teach Organization of Ideas

Before you can successfully code a program, an organization of ideas must happen. Determining what coding language you need, what platform you will use, what you want the program to do with a set number of commands -- each of these steps needs to be mapped out before the actual code creation begins. 

In creating a website, for example, it is important to determine what web hosting service you will use, what your domain name will be, what your budget is, what pages you want on your website, and so on. Coding helps to teach kids project management by organizing their ideas and working through a step-by-step process from the planning phase to the execution phase.

5. Coding Builds Entrepreneurial Skills

We’ve all heard the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” This beloved saying speaks not only about having optimism in life, but looking for opportunities when at first glance it seems like there are no opportunities to be found. Entrepreneurship is more than a job or a college major -- it is a mindset and a way of life. 

The act of being in business is providing a solution for someone else’s need, and that takes creativity, vision, and enthusiasm. Learning to code enables kids a brand new way to bring their creativity, vision, and enthusiasm to life. When they learn the foundational blocks of writing a program, their options for being in business are endless. 

Technology solves everyday problems for people, from grocery apps to social media to websites and membership sites. Learning to code gives a child the foundational understanding that lemonade can be made from any situation --

How Can I Teach My Kids to Code Now?

If you want to unlock your children’s learning potential today, try the GeekPack® Create and Code Camp -- a fun way for kids to learn the creative magic of coding! 

Watch your children’s confidence skyrocket as they take on a 5-day coding challenge, graphic design, and the foundational tools for mobile app development. 

If your kids aren’t beaming with pride after creating & coding with the GeekPack® Create and Code Camp, or their confidence doesn’t skyrocket, or if they aren’t raving about the skills they’re learning within 14-days, we’ll issue you a full refund!  

It is undeniable that technology will continue to expand and grow and fill our lives more and more as time goes on. By equipping kids with the coding languages, logical thinking, and visionary perspective to improve their lives, you’re giving them more than just an in-demand job skill -- you’re giving them the tools to create their future!