How to Choose the Right Coding App for Your Child

Having trouble finding the right coding app for your child? The search can get difficult with many options to choose from. Fortunately, we have explored the factors that go into choosing coding apps for kids and are ready to share some tips with you. Before we dive further into this subject, you might think about your child’s interests, their age, and any experience they’ve had so far with mobile devices or computers. All these aspects will affect your decision. So with that in mind, let’s look at the ins and outs of choosing the ideal coding app.

Expectations about Coding Apps for Children

To a great extent, coding apps for children offer educational pathways towards learning these technical skills. While they have the advantages of an engaging educational tool, they mostly provide the first steps towards learning how to code. Therefore, you might still consider enrolling your child in a class for coding if his/her school doesn’t already have one or a summer camp.

You can also look for online courses that also provide consistent and structured instruction that’s tailored to your child’s grade level and interests. Plus, they might get the advantage of interacting with their peers and a knowledgeable instructor (with your supervision of course).

And that brings us to another key to enhancing your child’s experience with coding apps–your participation and guidance. For instance, you can try out the app while introducing it to your child. Better yet, you can also navigate through the games together. After all, you can expect positive results in a child’s learning when you “play along” with them on the app. By participating in these activities together, you’re helping your children to build their communication skills along with those connected with computation and programming.

How Do Coding Apps Benefit Kids?

As you explore various coding apps, you’ll see some advantages, including the following.

A Fun Way to Learn Complex Concepts

Some of us might get goosebumps when we hear terms like “algorithms” and “programming languages.” However, a coding app for children takes a complex task or concept and breaks it down into simpler steps that hold their attention. From games to storylines to the creation of characters or places, the content captivates even first-time coders. Therefore, the challenges of computation and problem-solving are presented in such a manner that makes coding fun for your child. 

Encourages Creativity

Furthermore, kids learn how to work through a whole other mode in which they can exercise their creativity. Although coding involves mathematical, computational, and critical thinking skills, this pathway allows for children to let their imagination take over.

For example, some apps involve customizing characters and altering the direction of a storyline. Others include a sketching platform where the child draws the puzzle pieces as they create a new game.

Promotes Collaboration

Your child can also gain some valuable teamwork skills when he/she starts using coding apps. In one instance, younger preschool-age children can start their journey with you, the primary teacher of communication and social and spatial skills while playing on the app. Subsequently, older children can work with siblings or friends while solving problems and learning programming languages.

Working cooperatively is an important skill that transfers to the classroom and eventually to a career situation. And working on a coding app can give your child opportunities to acquire those necessary soft skills along with STEAM-related abilities.

Coding Opens Doors to Future Careers

On the one hand, it may seem early to think about future careers, especially if your child is still in kindergarten. Nonetheless, you can start building interest in STEM careers at a young age. Through the creative process of programming, your child might develop a passion for the field of technology.

And even if he or she decides on another field in the future, many skills that are developed through coding prove to be applicable to various jobs.

Coding Apps Facilitate Responsible and Ethical Innovation

Another positive aspect pertains to the lessons that make up the app’s content. Many coding apps incorporate lessons that promote responsible and ethical programming. In other words, the skills and concepts are applied for positive innovation. As an illustration of this, some apps present problem-solving activities that focus on preserving the environment. Others include digital literacy components and introductions to the ethical use of AI.

What to Consider When Choosing an App

Along with the coding app’s traits and functions, you’ll need to take note of how it will keep your child’s interest and factors that affect how your child engages in both play and learning.

Age of Your Child

The first thing to consider is your child’s age. The main reason is that some apps are designed with younger children in mind while others are geared more towards older kids. Consequently, when you choose a coding app that fits in perfectly with your child’s age group, there’s less chance of frustration with activities that are too advanced. On a similar note, your child won’t get bored with games that are too simple.

What Does Your Child Enjoy Most?

Another question to ponder is what exactly interests your child. Does he or she like animals or shows an interest in nature? Do your children like sports, music, art, or video games? You might also consider other pastimes your child enjoys even if they do not relate to STEAM.

Furthermore, you can take note of what peaks your child’s curiosity when trying out different apps. The logic behind considering all these factors relates to the app’s content, which might involve games, activities, and plots that connect to your child’s daily life.

How Your Child Learns

Your child’s learning style and preferences will also play into your decision. Perhaps you’ve noticed that your child likes to move around or taps his or her pencil when completing homework. In this case, a coding app that has a more hands-on approach (like a drawing board) would be ideal.

User Experience

How user-friendly is this coding app? Do the tasks appear to be too easy, nearly impossible, or is there a balance? Are the instructions clear? These are all questions that might affect how you narrow down your choices. Hence, the user experience aspect of coding apps for kids may promote resilience and perseverance when it comes to problem-solving. However, if they’re too advanced for your child, you might have to move on to something more age-appropriate or more engaging for them.

Content

Going along with interests and age, you’ll also need to pay close attention to the content. In the case of preschoolers or kindergartners, for instance, you might opt for a coding app with short activities that are mostly visual. For older kids or tweens, you’ll need to look for content that’s more text-based and involves tasks related to building chatbots or robots or solving mysteries.

Tech and Learning Support

One of the most important qualities to consider is the tech and learning support. As a parent, you want to be able to help your child if he or she “gets stuck” on an activity. So tech support that’s readily available and easy to understand proves to be vital in such situations.

Also, you might look for a coding app that offers valuable learning support, from troubleshooting areas of difficulty to extending activities that keep your child engaged.

Cost versus Offerings

Likewise, selecting the right coding app for your child might involve cost. Many apps are free, but others have a monthly or annual subscription. Conversely, you might find an app that has a free version with paid upgrades. In any case, you can compare pricing among various apps along with their features and content. Ultimately, the best choice will be the one that possesses the best value and the most benefits for your child.

Customer Reviews

Additionally, reading the reviews gives you some valuable insights. Many parents and/or teachers give detailed information about their children’s or students’ experience with the app. Having this kind of insight is quite useful and may even help with narrowing down your choices.

Gain Insight from Experts

In addition to the factors already mentioned, you might ask around and find out which coding apps for kids your friends, family, or acquaintances have utilized.

Ask a Teacher

You might approach your child’s teacher (or teachers if your child is in one of the secondary grades) first. Teachers receive all sorts of information about various school subjects or about after-school activities. So most likely, they’ve come across advertisements about coding apps for kids and would willingly pass that on to you.

Chat with a Rep

When you look online at information about coding apps, you’ll either see a chat pop up or find a “Contact Us” page. Consider using either one to gain more details about the app’s features, content/curriculum, and cost. Better yet, try to get a demo to see how the app works and whether it catches your child’s interest.

Talk to Homeschooling Parents

If you homeschool your children, you might ask the members of your local homeschool co-op if they can recommend a coding app. Another option is to search for coding groups for children in your community. They might also utilize an app for practice at home (or can recommend a good one) as part of their curriculum.

App Features to Look For

Likewise, we have some ideas about features for you to focus on during your search.

Age-appropriate Functions

Whether you’re watching or participating in a demo or simply reading about the app, consider taking some mental notes about its features. For example, is it text-based, which works well for older children and teens. Or does it have the drag-and-drop functions which is perfect for younger children and preschoolers. Overall, the app’s interface should provide an age-appropriate experience that sufficiently challenges your child without causing them to get discouraged.

Progressive Levels

If the app has levels of difficulty that are also age-appropriate and presents a challenge in a fun manner, then it’s the right one for your child. When kids see new tasks or functions integrated at each level, they’ll be less likely to get bored and lose interest. 

Cross-curricular Activities

Ideally, coding apps for children incorporate activities that relate to multiple school subjects. Some apps, for instance, are more math-driven but still include geography or science. Others incorporate art and music, and many interface features promote literacy and include literary elements by involving a plot line.

Ability to Add Multiple Users

As you may have noticed in your search, not all apps have the capability to add multiple user profiles. Many give you the ability to add your parent or teacher profile but not peers. Other apps for kids, on the other hand do have the capacity for multiple peers to collaborate or work on their own projects. Depending on your preferences, this could be another quality to look for.

Progress Tracker

Another characteristic that proves to be helpful is a progress tracker of some sort. This feature not only keeps a record of your child’s activity and progress on the app; it also gives parents easy access to this information.

Resources for Parents/Teachers

And don’t forget that you’re not alone if you’re not a coding expert or the master of electronics. For this reason, you’ll need to choose an app that has a parent’s guide that helps with figuring out the more challenging aspects. Additionally, some apps give you access to enrichment activities that help reinforce your child’s skills.

Another handy feature to look for is access to a children’s online coding community where they share their projects and questions. After all, coding does involve collaborative innovation.

Test the App for Yourself

Finally, consider taking the app for a test drive. This allows you to check out the features, content, and functionality. Plus, if it looks like a winner, your children will probably get curious and want to try it out for themselves.

Now that you have the details of what to look for in a coding app for your child, your quest should get easier from here on. Remember to always request a demo (if available), ask an expert or a rep about the app’s features, and try to glean some recommendations from other parents or teachers. Additionally, you might test the app before introducing it to your child. After following the steps and looking at the features mentioned above, you’ll find the ideal coding app in no time at all. And your child will be well on his or her way to learning more about technology and innovation.