My nine-year-old son recently began showing interest in wanting to attend a coding program. As a mom who knows nothing about coding, looking for the best one was a challenge. There are a plethora of coding programs for kids out there, so it was tricky to know what to choose. Should I try a free one? Is it worth it to pay for his continued education in coding? What will they learn in a paid coding program versus a free course? That’s when I found all the answers I was looking for at CodeWizardsHQ.
Should I choose a free or a paid coding program for my child?
This is one of the most common questions parents have when searching for a coding program for their child.
After a bit of research and asking around, here’s an answer to this question for parents who aren’t quite sure whether a paid program, like CodeWizardsHQ, is worth it.
The benefit and downfall of a free coding program:
Free online resources are an excellent way for kids to test the waters to see if they are interested, but they are not the right place for learning a topic in-depth.
Coding is incredibly hard for kids to learn because of how technically demanding it is. One small error of code can cause their entire program to break entirely. Finding these issues can prove almost impossible if your child doesn’t know what they are looking for.
So it is extremely helpful to have an expert there to help children find where the issue is in their code, hence the importance of a good instructor that only comes with a paid version. They will show kids how to fix it and how to identify similar problems as they arise in the future.
A child will often give up on a free version before he gave it a shot, as there is no one to help them succeed in coding.
The benefit of choosing a paid coding program:
Paid programs, like CodeWizardsHQ, see about a 93% course completion rate where most free online courses have about a 5-10% completion rate. Having a live teacher who knows what they are doing is a huge part of what makes a paid program, like CodeWizardsHQ, better.
Also, active support channels, in general, play into this very heavily. CodeWizardsHQ offers many ways to get help at pretty much any hour of the day so that students can get help when they need it: Homework help, office hours, student forum, direct teacher messaging, video recordings of the class.
Curriculum quality is also a factor why CodeWizardsHQ, is better than a free course. They spend a lot of time figuring out the most useful subjects and coding languages and organizing them in a way that logically fits together.
This gives students a 360 view of what they are learning and how it relates to other types of coding, and how they make up computer programs in general.
Many free resources just layout topic by topic, but they aren’t truly connected. You learn one thing here and another there, but they never really fit together.
CodeWizardsHQ stresses how all of these pieces of the puzzle fit together to make up modern programming, which gives students a much stronger sense of confidence in what they learn and how it fits into the world of computing.
On the other hand, free classes teach students how to do one cool thing here and one cool thing there, which is simply a great way to introduce your child to coding, but won’t help them in the long run.
A Parent’s Perspective of CodeWizardsHQ
After 12 weeks of seeing my son’s growth and willingness to learn in his class, I knew I had made the right decision is choosing CodeWizardsHQ. Not only does he absolutely adore his teacher, but he’s also excited every single time his Monday class rolls around. And all throughout the week leading up to his class, he can’t wait to finish his school homework, just so he can work on his coding homework.
It’s hard to try and persuade your child to learn or do something. But with CodeWizardsHQ, it was quite the opposite. I sometimes had to say to my son, “Okay, you’ve been coding for hours now, it’s time to get ready for bed!”
Not only is it encouraging to see his excitement about it, it’s relieving, knowing I don’t have to do anything to make sure he’s learning coding the right way — it’s hand’s off for parents! And speaking as a mom who has a LOT on her plate, it’s one less thing I need to worry about.
As a mom, I would highly recommend this coding program.
Our conversation after my son’s first coding class with CodeWizardsHQ
Me – “How did you like it?”
Son – “It was SO amazing. Can I do my homework for it? I loved it SO much. My teacher is super nice, and check out what I can do now!”
It’s sometimes hard to get kids to try new things. In fact, at first, he was hesitant. But after his first class, he was beaming. He’s now finished his 12wk once per week class, and we already have him signed up for another set of lessons.
What is CodeWizardsHQ?
Here are just a few benefits when you choose CodeWizardsHQ over any other coding program.
- Interactive Live Classes
- Video Recordings of Every Class
- Complimentary 1×1 Office Hours
- Daily Homework Help
- Highly Qualified and Experienced Teachers
- Supportive Online Student Community
- Hands-on, Project-Based Learning
- Structured and Comprehensive Curriculum
- Downloadable Slides for Every Class
- Weekly Progress Report & Alerts
- Individual Course Certification
- Direct Messaging with Teachers
- 24/7 Access to Proprietary Coding Platform
- Path to Real-World Internship
The Teachers Are the Best
If you’re a parent, you know how important a teacher is to your child’s education. It will inevitably determine and how much fun they have and keep them motivated to learn.
The other great thing about CodeWizardsHQ is that you can continue with the same teacher to the next learning phase unless otherwise requested. That means there is no need for your child to adjust to another teaching along the way — a HUGE benefit.
Now, let’s discuss the benefits and importance of coding and why it’s become a basic literacy in the digital age.
What is coding, and why is it important for kids to learn?
Simply put, learning to code is learning to communicate with a computer and tell it what to do. The most basic skills begin with learning the logic and processes before learning the language.
As the future moves more towards a digital age, coding is essential for kids to learn, as most future jobs will require at least a little coding knowledge.
Not only is a coding education something that kids LOVE, but it also improves their writing and mathematical skills. Here are some other benefits of coding.
Benefits of coding for kids
- Encourages logical thinking
- Success and failure practice
- Learn problem-solving skills
- Boosts creativity
- Algorithm education
- Teaches them to overcome challenges
- Instills confidence
- Evolve with how the future will do things
At what age should my child begin learning to code?
When my son turned 6, we bought him a little robot you can program called Dash. He LOVES it. Not only did it introduce him to the basics of coding, but it was also fun! As was discussed earlier, where a free program can benefit your child, you can start them out whenever! Test the waters to see if they like it. Or buy them a robot that requires simple coding skills.
Check out these other stats and benefits of CodeWizardsHQ
Curriculum created for learning online
- Our structured curriculum was developed and is continuously refined to be taught online with exciting visuals and engaging projects that keep kids motivated from afar.
Teachers trained to teach online
Our teachers have been extensively trained to teach online and provide a fun and successful experience in and out of the virtual classroom with continuous support.
Tools developed for working online
Our proprietary tools, developed over 10,000 hours, provide students with a pro-level coding platform where teachers can view and give feedback on their code in real-time.
Why coding is the perfect gift for your video-game loving child
If your child loves playing video games, it’s most likely they will be interested in coding. Getting your child a coding program with CodeWizardsHQ is a unique gift for kids and will help them learn the skills they need for our future technological world.
Check out CodeWizardHQ today to see if it’s a good fit for your child!
I highly recommend it for any child showing interest in coding.
