Are Kids More Tech Savvy Than Us?

Are Kids More Tech Savvy Than Us?

Are you the parent of a super-geek kid who speaks a language you don't understand? You're not alone.

A study of 1,000 parents of children aged three to eight show two thirds didn't realise their little ones were learning coding at school or nursery.

Many parents say they are staggered to hear youngsters babbling on about 'hyperlinks', 'pop-ups' and 'downloads'. It seems 'password', 'software' and 'icons' are also coding words freely used by the nation's youngsters, while seven in 10 parents have heard their children saying words like 'bug', 'cookie' and 'algorithm'.

But while most parents have some knowledge of computers, a quarter admit they would be out of their depth when it comes to helping with homework related to computer coding - with 74 per cent wishing they understood more.

A third of parents claim they don't have any understanding of coding, and almost nine in 10 parents say they are completely baffled when their child talks about 'programming' at home – while a third are relying on their children to share their knowledge and skills.

What's more, 60 per cent of parents polled believe it would be helpful if nurseries and schools held lessons for parents first, so they can assist their own children when they learn.

The researchers also discovered that 55 per cent of parents think education has changed so much since they went to school that they find it harder to help their own children with their school work.

We'd love to hear your views on this. Do you agree that helping kids with homework is harder for today's parents than it was for our mums and dads when we were kids? And do you feel that your child's tech skills outpace your own already? And finally, would you sign up for coding class at your child's school so that you could keep abreast of what they're learning? Leave us a comment below or join the conversation over on our Facebook page.

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