When your kids are navigating the wide world of the internet, you always want to keep them safe and protected. With the vast amount of online resources and tools you can use to educate them, coding is a great way to keep them entertained while teaching them a new skill. Coding can teach kids fun and valuable skills like basic programming, website building, and more!
Here are resources that can help you teach your child how to code using your phone, computer, or iPad.
Classes
- Code Combat– For all ages
- Sylvan Learning – Onsite Classes
- KhanAcademy – Free
Websites
- Blocky Games– Programming games
- Kids Ruby– PC and Mac Program
- Made With Code– Google classes
- Jam.com – Online STEM Learning
Games and Toys
Apps
- Cargo-Bot – iOS
- Cato’s Hike – iOS
- ScriptKit – iOS
- LightBot – Android
- Run Marco – Android
For more information on building a WordPress site with your kids check out this video:
Kids and Blogging Safety
General Tips
- Understand your child’s limitations
Every child has strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. Pay attention to the questions they ask and what their passions are. Push them outside their comfort zone, but also know when to back off and let them be.
- Know what your child is blogging about
It is important to keep tabs on what your kids are putting out there. Encourage them to write about everything and anything, but make sure it is not going to put them in any danger.
- Control the blog settings to a level you are comfortable with
You can block the search engines from the website to keep the kid’s websites from being crawled. You can also password protect the site with most hosts.
- Turn comments on/off as needed
Sometimes when comments are on you will find the trolls on the internet surface. If this becomes a problem, or if you don’t want it to become one, you can turn comments off.
- Make sure that personal information is not shared online: name, address, phone, school, sports teams, etc. are all variables predators use to track kids online.
The unfortunate reality is that it doesn’t take too long to piece together where someone lives based on pictures, words, or other cues kids write about. Regularly read the blog and make sure that personal information is removed. Check images for street signs, sports uniforms, etc. Blurring things in pictures is also okay to do. Better to be safe.
- Talk regularly about blog safety and the internet
Keep communication open with your kids so that if anything nefarious begins online on the blog they are comfortable talking to you. This should be a family project and not done alone.
- Challenge your kids to write more
Research has shown the more kids write, the better they read and vise versa. This is a great opportunity to help boost those reading and writing skills. Also, if they dive into the code of the site it will help with logic, math and science principles as well.
See https://blogging.com/parents-blogging-safety/ for more tips on keeping your kids safe while blogging.
11 Comments
Really good article content and ideas to try with kid in this time where is everybody in the home.
I already teach our kids about coding
Greetings Kali,
That’s awesome, thank you for sharing!
Teaching your kids these skills is one of the best thing nowadays.
Thanks for the article.
We couldn’t agree with you more! Thank you!
These skills will undoubtedly be useful to your child because everything in our world is now being translated into virtual information that needs to be able to be protected.
Very good information
Thanks this tips really helped a lot
Very interesting post. Keep up the good writing.
thanks so much for sharing such a great info…
it is really helpful.
That’s cool, I was looking for same from I don’t know many days and finally i found it on your website thank you for sharing.