As artificial intelligence becomes part of everyday life - from ChatGPT and image creators, to self-driving cars - many parents may be wondering: “Will our children still need to learn to code?”

It’s a fair question. After all, if AI can now write code (which it can already), what’s the point of teaching it to young children?

But the truth is, coding isn’t just about typing commands into a computer.

It’s About Computational Thinking, Not Just Code

When I founded Think Big back in 2017 - long before generative AI entered popular mainstream - the aim was never simply to create young programmers. It was develop young thinkers. I like to say, thinking BIG!

Jeanette Wing popularised the term Computational Thinking around 20 years ago. I first learnt about it when I did my PGCE to become a teacher. She regarded it as a “universally applicable attitude and skill set everyone, not just computer scientists, would be eager to learn and use”.

When children learn to code, they’re also learning to:

• Break problems down into smaller steps (decomposition)

• Spot patterns and repeat useful processes (pattern recognition)

• Think logically and plan carefully (algorithms)

• Test ideas, learn from mistakes, and improve (debugging)

These are exactly the kinds of skills that help children become resilient problem-solvers, ready to tackle real-world challenges. Essentially, key life skills. As Steve Jobs famously stated, “Everybody should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think.”

But AI writes code NOW …

Yes - and that changes things. AI can generate code.

But it cannot independently decide which problems are worth solving.

It cannot judge whether a solution is meaningful or useful.

It cannot replace a child’s curiosity or creativity.

In fact, as AI becomes more capable, the need for strong THINKERS becomes ever BIGGER - not smaller.

In a world where we don’t know what jobs will exist in 10 years, maybe even just 5 years, teaching our children how to think clearly, solve problems creatively, and adapt with confidence is the best preparation we can offer.

Preparing for a Future We Can’t Yet See

I have a nephew in his 20’s who is thriving in a job which, not only didn’t exist when he was in Primary School, it didn’t even exist 5 years ago.

We’re raising children for a world filled with technology we can barely imagine.  Children who understand how technology works are far more likely to shape it, not be shaped by it.

Why Start in Primary School?

Primary age is the perfect time to introduce coding and computational thinking. At this age, children are naturally curious, creative, and unafraid of mistakes - exactly the mindset needed to explore coding in a playful, hands-on way.

By starting early, we give them a foundation of confidence that will support them whatever direction they choose - whether that’s building the next AI tools, solving climate problems, or simply understanding the digital world they live in.

We Don’t Need Every Child to Be a Coder - But We Want Them All to Be Empowered

Just like not every child who learns to write becomes a novelist, not every child who learns to code will become a software developer.  But learning to code, and more importantly, learning to think like a coder, gives children a sense of agency in a world where technology increasingly will shape their lives.

And that’s a gift they’ll carry for life.

So, to finish, another question - Have I used AI for writing this blog?

Another fair question!

And yes, I have to a point! Certainly, I used ChatGPT for the graphic for this article and it amazes me how much this capability has improved just in the last three months (sorry Graphic Designers!). I’ve also used it as an aid for formulating my thinking and structuring my writing. I’m not ashamed of this – just in the same way as we all will have used google to assist researching in the past, or, when I was at university, used a thesaurus from the library!

This is the first in a short series exploring what it truly means to raise children in the age of AI.

In the next article, I’ll be exploring something I wasn’t expecting when I started some recent AI workshops: how worried most children already feel about their futures and what responsibility we, as adults, have in shaping that narrative.