What is the Best Age for Learning Coding? | 21K School (2024)

A computer cannot understand human language. Coding is a computer language that helps make websites, applications, software, and others. So, coders are in huge demand today. There is no specific age to start coding.

Experts say that a child can begin coding even at the age of 5 years. You can start with logical games so that they will first develop an interest in coding. Kids can then move to tricky exercises. Most studies have concluded that children who learn coding at the elementary school level perform better academically than children who don’t.

Benefits Of Teaching Coding At The Elementary School Level

1.Helps In Understanding The Connected World Better

Most people don’t know about smartphones, computers, and tablets working. But if a kid learns a programming language from a very tender age, they will look differently at the technology we use daily. Coding will help them understand the connected world in a better way.

2. Huge Demand For Programmers

Most jobs in the STEM( Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) field are related to computing. So, if your kid learns coding from a very early age, tyhe can have a lucrative career. They can even start his own business, like opening a website and selling products or creating mobile applications.

3. Increases Creativity

Kids have to go to school daily and do their homework. They want something creative at the end of the day to break their monotonous daily routine.

Kids who aren’t interested in dancing, singing, or music can develop expressive capability by learning to code. When a kid learns coding, they can start making their website or apps at a tender age.

4.Problem Solving Skills

If your kids acquire coding knowledge, they will gradually develop problem-solving skills. It will sharpen their memory. So, in short, coding can also increase their cognitive skills. It will help them in approaching any issue with a solution approach.

What Are The Five Ways For Kids To Start Coding?

1. You Can Start With Basics

Teaching your kids too much about coding can lead to frustration. So, it would help if you started coding slowly and then moved to complex problems. Several websites offer coding courses for kids. You can enroll your kid on those websites.

Again, Youtube is another great way to introduce your kids to coding. By watching videos, your child can learn all the fundamentals of coding, like variables, constants, algorithms, and various others. Several books are also available in the market which have explained the basics of coding enjoyably and excitingly.

2. Allow Your Child To Learn Coding A Bit More

You can start encouraging your kids to talk about coding with their friends, relatives, or teachers. You can also ask them to connect coding with any subject. They can ask their science teacher how coding helps power a robot. You can take your child to a technology museum to develop more interest in coding.

3. Try Small Things

Your kids have just learned a few fundamental things about coding and that coding is behind video games, robotics, and others. But if you introduce a complex problem at this stage, it can frustrate them, or they will start losing interest in coding. You can begin with minor problems to maintain their interest in coding.

4. Move To Something Bigger

Now you can progress to something more significant, as your kids have mastery of the fundamentals of coding. But remember, the aim of this step should not be to touch the moon. Your kids can create small mobile applications at this step, which is the base for making complex apps in the future.

5. Encourage Your Kids To Know More About Coding

You should encourage your kids to practice coding daily; otherwise, they may forget everything.

Don’t get disheartened if your child takes a long time to understand coding or things don’t go according to your plan. Every child has different learning skills. So give them some time. It is better not to lose patience while teaching coding to kids.

Conclusion

Coding has immense benefits. If a child learns coding at an early age, then he will have numerous career opportunities. Simultaneously it will increase his cognitive skills. You can start teaching coding to kids at even five years of age.

You can follow the above five steps to start teaching coding to kids at an elementary school level. But remember, every child is not the same, and some children take a longer time to grasp the basics.