We cannot deny the importance of computers in contemporary times. The skill of learning computers and the ancillary skills cannot be ignored. As humanity evolved, it witnessed a changing definition or upgrading definition of ‘necessary skills.’
It may have started with hunting, gathering, and knowing how to light a fire, but gradually, it has come to a point where skills like creativity and computer skills have become an essential part of our lives.
Now, along with good language skills or mathematical aptitude, kids are expected to have basic computer knowledge to prepare them for the real and evolving world. This blog focuses on how you can teach your kids some basic computer skills.
Basic Computer Skills That Every Child Must Learn
Before diving into the ‘how’ of it, let’s first understand what it means when we say ‘basic computer skills.’ So, the answer to this is that it completely depends on the environment the child has lived in for all these years.
For instance, if, for the early years of life, you have kept your child away from technology and close to nature (which is a good thing), the child might need more primary-level skills to introduce him to technology.
However, in some households, children are made aware of how to use a computer or a smart TV early, making it easier for parents to skip the basic skills and move on to complex computer tasks such as beginner-level programming.
Some parents incorporate computer jokes in their learning methods to teach kids about these machines.
Once you have figured out your child’s level of understanding of computers, below is a list of skills that every child must know and how you can teach them.
Some Important Computer Skills To Include
1. Typing
Typing is not only a necessary skill in itself but also a skill required in learning all other computer skills. Also, the reason that it’s kept as the foremost of the computer skills to teach your children is that from their toddler years, kids like to press buttons, and since typing is all about pressing or touching keys, it can be a fun learning experience for them.
2. Emailing
This is another important skill every child must know. You can make them like it even more by encouraging them to write email letters to their friends or send to-do lists to themselves. This makes them adept at emailing and boosts their management skills. After all, from college applications to job queries, the world runs on emails.
3. Online Surfing/research
This is not a basic skill but a part of life nowadays. Whether your kids want to search and read about their favorite superhero or find notes on a particular topic, online research is crucial. You can instill this skill in them by giving them fun and creative questions to find the answers to. Such as why Pluto was termed a ‘dwarf planet’ and many more.
4. Coding
This computer skill cannot be considered a basic skill but a skill that will keep your child ahead of the competition and job-ready in the future. You can teach them coding through short tutorials on YouTube and give them creative assignments like making their simple website. Coding camps for kids not only teach programming skills but also foster creativity and problem-solving abilities from a young age.
Internet Ethics & Safety
While it is very important to teach your children the basics of computers, it is crucial to understand and be aware of the hazards of exposing your kids to the internet.
Introduce your kids to basic internet safety concepts such as not posting personal pictures online, using personal information such as name, billing address, and card details very carefully (rather not, try to keep that information to yourself), ignoring harmful or spam emails, and other safety tricks such as avoiding to click on unknown web links and so on.
Now that you have ensured your child’s safety, it is very important that you also teach them that safety over the internet is a two-way thing. Make sure your child doesn’t post hateful comments or send rude emails to their friends.
Summing It Up
Now that we have discussed the ‘what’ and the ‘how,’ another very important aspect of teaching your kids basic computer skills is the ‘process.’ So, how you teach is as important as what you teach.
First, communicate with them and be kind while solving their doubts. Also, to ease the process, you can use kids’ apps built for the purpose. Lastly, while teaching your kids computer skills, please do not see it as a learning lesson but as any other activity you teach them, such as speaking, etiquette, etc., to make it fun.
Don’t forget curiosity is the key.
