If you are carrying the question “how should I start teaching my child to code?” then this article for you. Coding is the most valued skill your kids can start leaning through very easy steps.
I am a high school teacher and involved in teaching industry over 6 years. I teach children to code, so I know what I am talking about. Here I am sharing my experience to help you to take decision on how to start teaching your kids to code.
8 Best Tips to start teaching your child to code
- Scratch is the best for younger kids to start to code (age 6-8)
- HTML &CSS is great for older kids (age 9-12)
- Python is perfect for teen to step into the world of coding (age 13 onwards)
- Let the beginning of coding be simple and fun
- Introduce complex coding part once they started to enjoy the coding
- Give them project and fix a time frame to complete
- Announce some award for completion of project and course
- Let your child taste the basic of most of the popular programming languages
There are many parents who are not belong to technical background, and it become so difficult to decide how to start teaching your child to code without having any knowledge of coding.
I have made this website to present you (patents), the best, effective and free way to teach your kids to code through my experience.
It is very easy to be confused and frustrated, when you see the ads by companies charge heavy fees to teach coding to your child, especially if are unable to afford the cost.
In this article I will provide 8 simple tips to start teaching your child to code.
You can also read other articles in this website to learn more.
- Scratch is the best for younger kids to start to code (age 6-8)
If your child is 6 years old then it is an appropriate time to introduce your child with Scratch for leaning to code in fun and interesting way.
I myself am teaching the kids of our school Scratch and I can promise that your kids will really enjoy this beautiful software. This is free and the most popular software for children to lean coding by easy drag and drop way without spending plenty of money.
First of all, you can either download the software in your computer and to let your child learn offline or your child can visit Scratch website and learn online, link is given below.
You can also get this Scratch Course for free of cost from Udemy and teach your kids to code.
There are also several step by step tutorials available on YouTube for Scratch. You just need to search Scratch tutorial in YouTube.
- HTML &CSS is great for older kids (age 9-12)
If your child is 9 years old or above, than let your kid begin the coding by learning HTML & CSS. They are easy to learn and fun to work with. All web pages are build by html, so it is considered the back none of internet. But even though it is so vital language but amazingly it is so easy to learn.
Your kids will learn to create web pages and use their creative ideas to build the beautiful web pages and run them on browser.
Fortunately, there are plenty of free resources available on internet to learn html and CSS. Your kids can learn html and CSS for absolutely free.
You can check out the list of free courses on Udemy from below links for teaching your kids html and CSS for free.
You can also check out YouTube, as many html &CSS tutorials are available on YouTube.
- Python is perfect for teen to step into the world of coding (age 13 onwards)
Python is one of the most popular programming languages at present time. This language can open many door of opportunities before your child, when they will go for career decision.
Python is also easy to learn compared with C or C++ languages. Your child can learn the basic of Python for free from free resources available on internet but for getting in-depth knowledge you need to go for paid courses.
There are numerous benefits of learning Python as it is a powerful language. Python programming can be used for Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, web development, operating systems, mobile application development, and video games.
You can check out the below links for free courses from udemy.
Coding for Kids : Laying Programming Foundation using Python
Python for Absolute Beginners!
No Nonsense Python: learn Python basics and start coding
You can also check out YouTube, as there are many quality Python tutorials available on YouTube for learning basics.
- Let the beginning of coding be simple and fun
Children must be taught the simple coding at the beginning of coding journey with fun and enjoyment. Coding is really fun if you teach simple programming first.
When your kids start using their creative mind to create something unique, it will eventually give them enjoyment and this enjoyment will help them to move ahead towards more complex programming.
If you follow the above mentioned guide, I am sure your kids will enjoy coding.
- Introduce complex coding part once they started to enjoy the coding
The great mistake some parents do is that they want their kids to learn all the complex programming concepts from day one. As a result children suffer to understand and they lose interest to learn coding. They think coding is all about complex programming.
So, introduce complex coding to your kids only when they learn the basics and started to enjoy the coding.
If your kids are following a good course then I hope the teacher will guide from simple basics to complex, which will help your child to learn coding with maximum effectiveness.
- Give them project and fix a time frame to complete
Learning randomly can lead to poor learning experience, so once your kids learnt the basics give them some project to accomplish along with time frame to complete. It will cause your child to learn with more concentration and produce a urgency to complete within the destined time.
I strongly recommend the parents to give at least one hours of time with your kids, while they are learning coding, if your kids can learn then surely you can learn.
Many patents just don’t want to learn and rely on online courses or classes. But remember no one will be more serious about your kids learning coding than you. It is the best if you and your kids are working together to learn coding.
But if it is impossible for you then just leave it on the course, most quality courses are project oriented, as instructor give project to the learner for learning through practical way.
- Announce some award for completion of project and course
You can announce some award like going for a short tour or visiting Zoo etc for completing the projects and courses at the due time you defined for your child.
We all love award and so the kids. This small contribution can really keep the motivated to learn with most concentration.
When your kids complete the journey and get award they feel a sense of achievement and it encourage them to move ahead towards another achievement.
- Let your child taste the basic of most of the popular programming languages
Once your child learn any one programming language, it will become easier for them to learn the others as they learn the basic concept of programming.
But it is wise thing to not limiting your child with only one programming language. Your child must be master in one area of programming but should learn at least the basics of other popular programming languages. It will help them to understand, which area of programming make them most interesting and enjoyable, which ultimately help them to take the right career decision.
At present time, it is so easy to learn any popular programming languages due to the advancement of technology. Your kids can learn any programming languages just by seating at home through online courses or classes.
So, now is the time to teach your child to code, let your child start learning to code from today. Your child can begin the journey just by enrolling the free courses or by watching YouTube tutorials.