As a mom who knows nothing about Coding, looking for the best coding program for my child was a challenge. I remember when my husband was attending coding school; someone asked me what language he was learning. I was like, “Well, I think it’s all in English.”

Yeah. That’s how much I knew about coding. 

But after my husband finished his program and started a development job, my awareness grew, as well as my nine-year-old sons. Along with wanting to be just like his dad, his interest in coding began to grow, and I decided to find a coding program for him to start. 

As there are a plethora of coding programs for kids out there, 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 CodeWizardsHQ. 

But first, let’s talk about whether a parent should opt-in for a free course or a paid one.

Should I choose a free or a paid coding program for my child?

To answer this question, I asked one of the experts at CodeWizardsHQ to give their professional opinion of choosing a free versus paid coding program for kids. Here’s what they said. 

“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 to learn because of how technically demanding it is. One small error of code can cause your program to break entirely. Finding these issues can prove almost impossible if you don’t know what you are looking for. 

So it is extremely helpful to have an expert there to help you find where the issue is in your code, hence the importance of a good instructor that only comes with a paid version. They will show you how to fix it and show 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. 

We 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 our program better. 

Also, active support channels, in general, play into this very heavily. We offer 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 our program is better than a free course. We have spent 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. 

Our program 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.”

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 I 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!

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