Being Off A Computer Can Teach You More About Computers Than Being on Computers

Happy Mother’s Day!  Mother’s do a lot for their kids.  They sacrifice.  They worry about them.  They want the best for their future.  Across the country today, there is a lot of fear about the future.  Will their kids have a future?

It’s pretty easy to see that the next age is going to be the Information Age.  It’s harder to figure out how to be a part of it.

Many parent’s have thrust screens in front of their kids.  From iPods to iPads and mini computers they think putting them in front of a screen is a way for kids to find their space.  I don’t agree.

If you want your kid to learn how to code, you don’t necessarily need to teach them to code.  You need to teach them to problem solve, debug, and think ahead.  There are lots of ways to do that outside of the screen.  They are more active, and not a hammer over a kids head.

You can learn the principles of coding by playing chess.  You can learn it from playing other games.  You can learn it from gardening, and from building things.  You learn to code by just participating in life and being a kid.

Of course, math is a huge skill that teaches kids to code because math is all about problem solving.  That’s where something like Brilliant can fit in.  They have a computer science module for really advanced people.  But, for children they have levels of math combined with a support network to help them succeed.  Dabble Kids also exposes your children to all kinds of experiences that they can eventually incorporate into creativity on the web.

In the Information Age, coding is not just going to be done by geeky kids with pocket protectors and nerdy glasses.  It’s really just another language like any foreign language that needs to be learned.  If your kid has a propensity to be an artist, they can learn to code.

The data so far shows that the younger generation is more risk averse than previous generations.  There is a lot that goes into that-but some of it is being exposed to world wide social networks too soon.   Mistakes live forever on the web and kids instinctively know it.