A fifth-grade student in India created the code for 'Foodopoly,' a Monopoly-like game that teaches about Zero Hunger on behalf of the United Nations. A 7-year-old girl turned her love of studying stars and planets into developing astronomy games and apps.
Since the pandemic lockdown in India, there has been a rise in coding for kids' classes online. Kids in India as young as 4 years old can create commands using coding-the language that computers understand.
Why Parents in India Enroll Their Kids in Coding Classes So Young
Parents in India leveraged the months in quarantine period. They have enrolled their kids in coding classes amid the lockdown. The first reason is likely due to advertisements and social pressure.
Social Pressure
Famous parents like Bollywood actor and father-of-two Hrithik Roshan have had a major influence on parenting decisions. Endorsements and television campaigns claim a promising future for kids in India who learn coding, especially at a young age.
Competition
Parents in India want to keep their children up-to-code. There is that nagging feeling that your kids may be left behind if they do not know how to code. Parents are inclined to sign their kids up for coding to get ahead and not lag.
Learn Something New
Meanwhile, other parents are not crumbling to the pressure. Yet, they want to take advantage of their kids' time at home to learn something new. It is not about whether or not their children will end up becoming a software developer or coder for such parents. Rather, it is simple, so their kids will have the edge over the competition.
Where Kids Can Learn Coding
Schools in India are yet to offer coding as part of their curriculum. Instead, parents can enroll their kids in online coding classes. Such platforms promote coding as essential as other subjects like Mathematics and Physics.
Rahul Ranjan, CEO of the coding platform LeapLearner promotes coding as something that teaches children how to solve a problem. "Coding teaches computational thinking; kids learn to break down problems into sub-problems to better solve them." He added that with the pandemic giving rise to a more technology-driven world, parents find out the importance of teaching coding to children.
The top platforms to learn to code for kids include Coursera, Udemy, and Khan Academy. Other widely-promoted coding platforms in India are Whitehat Jr. and Next Education India Pvt Ltd. The latter offers modules and video lessons. Meanwhile, Whitehat Jr. offers one-on-one video classes for children ages 6 to 14.
Classes typically run for 1 hour to 1.5 hours, twice a week. Group classes cost about $60 to $80 for 12 sessions. For parents who want individualized programs, they can expect to shell out anywhere between $95 and $135, The Print India reported.
Can Learning Coding at an Early Age Secure Kids Future?
One parent in India discussed the drawbacks of molding children the same as the rest. For instance, once the educational fad of coding has begun, every parent wanted to enroll every kid in coding, at least in India.
Every child has unique skills, talents, and capabilities. Not all are adept at developing apps and games. Others are more creative and challenge the norms. There is social pressure in India where parents of children ages 4 to 6 are told that if they do not let their kids learn to code, they can fall behind in life.
In India, many parents had the belief that their children should be either doctors, engineers, or get management degrees. It is believed that only these pursuits are worthwhile. Without which, children were doomed for failure.
However, this fear later created tens and thousands of engineers and doctors in India who face unemployment. There also rose substandard private colleges that produce unskilled and unemployable doctors and engineers, NY Times reported.
Promotions for teaching coding to kids at an early age challenge conventional norms. They promote coding as critical to developing the cognitive skills of children. But, there are other ways to develop cognitive skills, like chess and storytelling.
Parents in India struggle to resist coding for kids' campaigns. But the future for kids is not only facing computers. There is a future for dreamers and doers too.
