Kidpreneurs - The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs Start Early

Many considered the turn of the twentieth century to be the pinnacle of industrialization but it wasn’t until the 2000s that entrepreneurship truly became a democratic pursuit. Gone are the days when one needed strong financial backing to start a business. This is the age of the startup and all it takes is one solid idea for business endeavors to take off. The silicon valley boom has seen the rise of young entrepreneurs and these days you have some of the youngest minds making some of the biggest bucks out there.

In such a scenario it is very important that the next generation of entrepreneurs be groomed early. The concept of student entrepreneurs arose out of this insight and now you have more and more parents pushing their kids towards this pursuit. Kidpreneurs, as they are popularly known, are basically intelligent and enterprising young children who are inculcated with basic business values which can then be put to practical use. This could be something as simple as coaching a kid to start their own lemonade stand and guiding them towards profitability.

Who actually teaches such courses you ask? Currently, even STEM for kids and other education models also don’t offer such courses but thankfully there are a number of extra-school institutions that offer such courses. They specialize in recognizing entrepreneurial talent in young children and helping them nurture this to great effect. While such courses definitely prepare children for an entrepreneurial life, they also provide them with important practical experience. It gives them a hands-on glimpse of what it means to run a company, manage finances, deal with profit and loss and think about things from a long-term perspective. The benefits are endless, the key lies in getting your child enrolled in a good course with good teachers.

Since most of the startups these days are in the technology space, writing code too has gained a lot of traction with younger children. Parents want their children to learn to code for a number of reasons, the most important one being to prepare them for a career in the software development field. But one cannot deny how well coding for children goes with the concept of student entrepreneurship. In fact, coding as a skill is helpful in a number of ways since it also teaches children to be disciplined and follow set rules. It mixes the dedication and discipline of technology with the bright spark of creativity, thereby stimulating both the spheres of the brain. Coding as a pursuit is in fact recommended for everyone these days.

While entrepreneurship for children and coding classes are all excellent concepts, better implementation in mainstream education is the need of the hour here. Educators need to understand the importance of these ideas and slowly incorporate them in a subtle way into the syllabus. The demand for such skills is evident, it makes sense for schools to accommodate them in their courses. In any case, the next generation of entrepreneurs may be young but they are definitely ready!

Why Your Children Need an Early Start in Their Career

As a diligent parent, you have no doubt enrolled your little one in a good early learning centre and are on the lookout for a good school for them. But simple academics is no longer enough. You cannot wait for your child to complete 14 years of education before they are exposed to the work that they will eventually do. It is estimated that forty percent of children today will go into jobs that haven't been invented yet. With so much at stake, it's important for you as a parent to help your child and give them that extra edge.

For instance, if your child loves apps and games, you could try and get them interested in coding for children. These coding classes are specially designed to appeal to kids while teaching them the basics of programming. Many advanced courses even let them actually write code from scratch and execute them. Besides immensely boosting their self-confidence, these courses, in fact, help children get a head start in a software programming career.

Another innovative way to give your child a taste of the practical aspect of work is to introduce them to the concept of student entrepreneurs. These basically consist of workshops and classes that help students pursue an entrepreneurial career from a young age. They not only teach children theory but also encourage practical application. These children are usually broken down into groups and given various entrepreneurial projects. Students have to learn to manage their finances, market their product or service and deal with losses in a productive way.

No matter what course you choose, it's important that it should be fun for your kids in addition to educating them. Since it's an extra-school activity, you don't want to put excessive pressure on your kid and let them find something that they truly love. Try out a few options and talk to your child to see what works best for them.

How to Give Your Kids That Extra Edge over the Competition

No matter how much we may want our children to have a healthy balance of work and play, the bitter reality is that a simple school education is not enough for a person to succeed in today's competitive age. But that does not mean that we need to force our kids to apply themselves till they read a breaking point. What you can simply do is channel their energies into more productive areas. Earlier, parents would enrol their children in drawing, painting and music classes to give them an extra edge and to hone their creative self-expression. In the modern age, these pursuits have become redundant in the same way that board games and classic outdoor games have gone out of vogue. It is important to attract kids with an activity that would interest them and add value to their education at the same time. For example, if your child has an aptitude for painting or drawing, push them towards computer courses for kids that focus on these skills. They could take up animation and graphic design and still stay true to their passion while in fact training for a possible and lucrative future career. Most kids these days can effectively work a computer better than an adult so it should come as no surprise to you if your child picks up these skills rapidly.

Coding classes for kids is another fantastic way to leverage your child's creative skills and technical talent. A number of future jobs will require a functional knowledge of coding and this is assuming your child doesn't want to directly pursue programming as a career. Why is this relevant for kids? They naturally have an aptitude for computer and mobile software and games and this gives them a way of looking under the hood and creating something for themselves. But that's not all, it also teaches children to practically apply their knowledge and deal with the hiring process of trial and error. At the same time, it can also prove to be extremely motivating to the growing mind, the sheer joy of perfectly executing a piece of well-written code is unmatched. A number of institutes offer coding classes for students with the express purpose of giving children a head-start in the field and more and more parents are turning towards it as a great way for their children to learn and grow.

If you feel your child has a more entrepreneurial bent of mind, you could always get them to participate in a young entrepreneurs program. This is something that more and more schools are adding to their curriculum every day simply because the world is discovering that innovation and industry can literally begin at any age. These entrepreneurship programs not only teach children the tenets of business but also pushes them to practically apply it in their lives. This could be something as simple as having your own lemonade stand to something as advanced as building a business from scratch and running it over a period of time.

The bottom line is that you need to arm your kid with skills beyond pure academics. Find something that fits your child's interests and encourage them to pursue it.

Why Parents Need To Embrace Their Children’s Love for Technology

Every parent has a natural distaste towards technology when it comes to our children. The popular argument is that it is turning children into mindless robots who are glued to their cell phone screens. The reality however is that technology is the language that children speak and it is the lubricant that moves the cogs of industry today. And while as a parent you may want to steer your children away from tech-addiction, there is a real opportunity here for parents to leverage their children’s love for technology into something productive.

Computer programming for kids is a concept that is fast gaining popularity. Since your child may already be hooked to the computer, why not turn it into something truly productive by introducing them to computer programming. Not only will this prepare your kid for a career in this field but will also teach them important life lessons like discipline, foresight and overall, broaden their creative horizons.

Besides computer coding for kids, there a number of other ways you can put your child’s love for technology to good use. A number of startups that come up are in the tech space, you could leverage your child’s interests to pursue entrepreneurship from an early age, thereby setting them onto a lucrative career path.

Technological innovations can also be used to better engage with children in the classroom. Robotics for kids is now being utilized as an effective learning tool in many classrooms around the country. More and more schools are waking up to the idea of piquing the interest of their students through technological innovations. As a parent, it is important for you to be on board and up to speed with their tech-related teaching methods and career opportunities so that you too could put your kids’ energy to good use.

Coding For Kids Myths Busted

The advantages of teaching our children how to code at a young age cannot be ignored. Yet, there are a ton of misconceptions and myths regarding it. The sooner parents are made aware of the importance and advantages of coding, the sooner they can expose their children to such unique education concepts that will benefit them. In order to do this, we need to break down some of the most common myths about coding for kids.

Children are too young to learn how to code - This statement is far from the truth. Children grasp concepts and knowledge way better than adults do because of their ever developing neurological makeup. That is why we teach kids how to swim, play an instrument or a new language when they are as young as 4 years old. Early childhood education needs to be diverse and include skills like coding, even if they are just the basics.

Kids are not interested in coding - You can make coding fun and interesting for your children by staring them off with exciting coding games and books. In addition, you can also enrol them in coding classes for kids where they can meet like minded kids and team up with them for activities and projects.

Coding is strictly for nerds - This false notion was spread courtesy of pop culture through television shows and movies. You need to help your children, who are interested in coding, understand that they should be themselves and that they do not need to conform to any of these stereotypical cultures. Coding in fact is a fun and social activity.

Coding is useless unless your kid wants to be a programmer in the future - Coding teaches you a number of other skills like - independence, resilience, critical thinking and team-work that are crucial to your child’s success in the future. Also, it will prove to be advantageous if your kid chooses a STEM career.