Parents have started to understand the value of introducing their kids to the world of programming. As technology continues to gain importance in today’s world, it becomes increasingly important for kids to learn more about programming and how they can learn to code to assist them in becoming future pioneers of the digital world.
To help you get started with teaching your kids programming, the first step is to choose the right first programming language for them.
What Programming Language Should Kids Learn First: Key Factors to Consider
As you pick the first coding language for your kids, there are key factors that you should consider making sure you are choosing the correct and appropriate language. This is important because it is going to ensure that your child can learn effectively.
1. Age Level
The language you choose should match the child’s development stage as there are certain programming languages that will be suitable for children at different age levels.
2. Easy to Learn
When you begin to teach about coding for the first time to your kids, make sure the language you choose should have a syntax and concept that should be simple and easy to understand.
3. Resources
The first programming language you decide to choose for your kids should have a variety of different resources such as YouTube tutorials, online assessments or material and classes available to learn from. This helps to enhance the learning experience and can push them to learn effectively.
Popular Programming Languages for Kids
Although there are a variety of programming languages available to start with when helping your kids get started with coding, the following are some of the most popular programming languages for kids nowadays.
1. Scratch
Scratch is a block-based language developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been recommended as one of the ideal languages that your child should start with. This is because Scratch has a visually attractive interface with drag and drop blocks making it easy for kids to start learning coding and its concepts.
Kids are not exposed to any text-based syntax which eliminates the fear of it being too hard to learn.
Scratch encourages creativity as kids can create multiple animations and games. Moreover, the large community and wide variety of resources online motivates them to explore further and interact as well. However, scratch is limited to only basic programming concepts which is why it is only suitable for young kids at a beginner level.
2. Blockly
Blockly is another programming language quite similar to Scratch as it also uses a block-based interface, but it can be transitioned to text-based code as well. It connects block based and text-based coding as it can generate code in multiple coding languages such as Python and JavaScript.
Blockly is a good option to choose as the first programming language for kids as it is not only limited to block-based coding and exposes kids to text-based programming making it easier for them to learn concepts in the future.
However, blockly is not as popular as Scratch thus it has a limited number of sources online to consult from when kids start learning.
3. Python
Python is a text-based programming language that is quite famous as it is simple and easy to read. It has emerged as a very popular language in the programming world as it is used in various fields from data science to web development making it a suitable choice for older kids.
Python is suitable for kids who already have knowledge of basic programming concepts and can further move to advanced programming. Alternatively, it can also be chosen as the first programming language for older kids as they have a higher attention span and can start learning an advanced language.
However, it is important to understand that Python might only be suitable for older kids and not for younger kids as it is a text-based code which would be difficult for kids aged below to 10 to understand.
Conclusion
For training kids about coding the first thing that comes to mind is what will be the best programming language for my child to start with, it depends on several factors such as their interests, age and learning style.
Scratch and Python have been a popular language to expose kids to the world of programming and encourage them to explore coding concepts. When they develop further interest then kids can slowly transition to a more advanced language such as Python that is text-based.
You can consider choosing blockly at the point as it combined block-based as well as text-based programming or start directly with Python if you believe your child is ready.
It is important to understand that regardless of what language you start with, the main goal is to encourage kids to explore and learn more about the digital world. It is necessary to at least start somewhere to ignite their interest in technology which will further open countless possibilities for them in the future to learn and grow.
