There are a million activities competing for your child’s time. How do you know what is best?

Meet Grace. As a teenager in today’s world, she goes from school to countless other activities. These extracurriculars range from sports practices, music lessons, and church groups, and by the time she gets home, she is busy with school work. There are numerous options for kids and teens to stay busy, but there are a lot fewer activities that help teens like Grace to develop worthwhile skills that will benefit her later.

When approaching a new extracurricular activity, Grace’s parents ask several questions: How much of a time commitment is it? How much does it cost? As a parent, do I feel like I am doing my part? Will this help my child get into college? Will they enjoy it? Hate it?

When approaching a new extracurricular activity, Grace asks different questions: Will it be fun? Will my friends be doing it? Is this better than hanging out with friends, playing video games, or watching TV? Will I dread going every time?

It is interesting to contemplate how technology has impacted the extracurricular industry. As teenagers spend more and more time at home playing Fortnite or watching Youtube videos, they spend less time developing skills. Parents have started to make a connection to technology and their children, as “Coding for Kids,” or something similar, is googled a million times each month.

Parents begin to think: Perhaps my child will enjoy learning to code, and it will actually benefit their future. And in all reality, that concept is not too far-fetched.

The idea is, if children have a knack for technology, why not channel that passion and turn it into something more. Here are three reasons why your child should learn to code:

1. Coding opens doors for the future (millions of them!).
2. Coding is screen-time used for skill development.
3. Coding is fun, regardless of what you might think.

Coding Opens Doors for the Future (Millions of Doors)

According to The National Center for Education Statistics, there are currently over 500,000 open computing jobs in the US, and yet there were only 49,000 computer science college graduates every year. And by 2020 (which is only 13 months away!) the number of open computing jobs will be 1,000,000.

While your child is probably active in sports, music and other activities, none of those extracurriculars offer the job potential that the coding industry does. In fact, one doesn’t have to wait to be in his/her mid-20’s to start working. As a teenager, your child can learn web development and become a freelance web developer, getting paid upwards of $15 per hour. That sure beats flipping burgers.

Coding is Screen-Time Used for Skill Development

According to Pew Research, two out of three parents are worried about screen-time in the home. And this is because 89% of teenagers go online several times each day. It is likely your child comes home from school and is naturally drawn to the TV, computer, iPad, or video games.

If your child is learning how to code, that screen-time is filled with something better than passive entertainment. Coding requires you to really think about what you are doing. Parents worry about if they are doing their part as a parent. Out of the countless hours your child is spending on screens anyways, you can replace some of that time with productive screen-time.

Coding is Fun, and Sparks Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills

We know and understand that every child is different, with unique personalities and interests. Within programming, every coding language is different as well. Between web development, game development, app development, database management, hacking/security, and many others, there are different personalities for each one.

If your child loves Rubik's cubes, perhaps an object-oriented language like C++ to further develop problem-solving skills. If your child loves Fortnite, perhaps game development will get your child excited to learn. If your child loves the aesthetics of Instagram posts, perhaps web development will help bridge visual skills with programming skills.

If coding is taught correctly, with engaging curriculum and fun projects, students will be thrilled to learn. They will view tasks as exciting, rather than homework. There are hundreds of websites with pre-recorded videos, but most teenagers do not have the willpower to sit through hours of material. That is why we recommend finding a live tutor to provide personalized teaching/mentoring and to hold your student accountable.

For more information, visit skillstruck.com

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