Why Are Coding Lessons Important for Young People

There are lots of ways that parents can help support their children throughout their learning journey, but one great way to ensure they are set up for academic success is to introduce them to coding lessons.

Coding for children not only helps them work on their mathematics skills but allows them to improve their creativity and work on transferable life skills that can be taken on into the workforce as they grow up. But what actually is coding?

To put it simply, coding is a method of communicating with computers. It is a unique language that only a computer understands to give it instructions in order for it to perform specific tasks. Coding is one of the methods used to create things such as websites, video games, phone apps and most importantly, computer software. So why is it so important for children to learn to code? 

From critical thinking and enhanced creativity to problem solving and the job opportunities that can follow, we have teamed up with a prep school in London to explore the many reasons why coding lessons are important for young people.

Coding lessons help children learn to problem solve

Through the practice of coding, children are able to understand computers better. The basics of coding alone helps children develop a love and appreciation for how things work. It also is a great way to show them how software engineers use maths to solve their problems in new and creative ways. Coding is one of the easiest ways to teach a child how to problem solve. This is one of the most valuable skills they can pick up in their childhood as problem solving skills will be needed all throughout life. By analysing a problem and breaking it down into smaller chunks, children will be able to identify solutions easier. When children are set the task to write code, it will require a whole lot of patience and persistence given that this activity isn’t always the easiest to complete. These skills may seem simple but can be used in other subjects in school such as Maths and Science. 

Coding lessons teach children how to think

Steve Jobs once said, “A computer is a bicycle for your mind”. This is because coding quite literally teaches children how to think. It isn’t just about teaching children how to write and type different lines of code. It’s about teaching young ones how to think outside of the box and differently to how they usually would. Being a great coder means to be able to think logically. Children will learn to see a big problem and break it down into smaller sections without hesitation to solve it in the best way possible. This is also known as decomposition and is something students will learn to adapt to as they practice coding on a regular basis. If the first solution doesn’t work, they will have gained the ability to find 5 more. It helps young ones persevere and dig deeper into their minds when it comes to finding a solution.

Coding lessons help children expand on their creativity

One of the greatest benefits of coding, is the creativity it allows children to gain. Every child is creative, some bake and others explore it through writing. In this case, creativity can be found through the simple act of coding. Through the constant experiments of filtering through different paths and patterns, children are able to work on their confidence and get creative. This is also because coding lessons require students to create something from absolutely nothing. Children are able to build their own websites or design their very own video games from scratch. This takes time and a whole lot of creativity to get right. But, with a bit of feedback and a whole lot of motivation, they will be on track to creating something amazing.