Coding for kids can be more than screen time. For a child who loves technology, gaming, social media and the internet, coding can become a way to create, solve problems and even explore enterprise ideas.
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Jai’s interest in technology became the starting point for his Apple app enterprise idea. Rather than only seeing his screen time as a problem, we wanted to help him channel that passion into something creative and entrepreneurial.
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Coding for Kids: Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea
Jai, like many teenage kids, is fascinated by the internet, social media and gaming.
If you allowed him, he would spend day and night on his computer, iPod or mobile phone chatting to his friends, playing games or searching the net.
We are careful that he is well-rounded, with a balance of activities such as kicking the footy and playing with his family, while at the same time allowing him the opportunity to immerse himself in his passion.
That balance matters.
Technology can easily become passive entertainment, but it can also become a pathway into creativity, learning and enterprise. This is where coding for kids becomes so interesting.
A child who loves screens may also love designing, building, experimenting, creating games, solving problems or developing apps.
Turning Screen Time Into Enterprise
When we introduced the Family Project to Jai, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
His very grand idea was inspired by a family friend who had developed a hugely successful company based around building iPhone apps.
Let me tell you, in a nutshell, his inspiring self-taught success story.
A friend of ours was originally from Switzerland and had worked most of his life in a newsagency. He also had a passion for windsurfing and would take every opportunity to visit the West Coast of Australia in pursuit of the consistent strong summer winds that make the WA coastline a windsurfer’s heaven.
In Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, the wind is named the Fremantle Doctor because it appears to come from the nearby coastal city of Fremantle and brings welcome relief from the summertime high temperatures.
Our friend then decided to leave his Switzerland home to follow his passion, and the Fremantle Doctor, and set up home permanently in Geraldton, a small coastal city north of Perth.
He literally became a beach bum who spent his afternoons windsurfing and kite surfing. In his spare time, he would play around on his computer.
A Self-Taught App Developer Story
He taught himself how to program apps for Apple iPhones and was able to make a few simple applications which he tried to sell online.
This is where his enterprise kicked off.
From the comfort of his backyard hammock, one of his apps began selling. Sales exploded, and millions of people from all around the world downloaded it. For each download, he received a payment.
His success seemed to happen almost overnight.
This entrepreneur went on to build a multi-million-dollar company with three other partners, all from Switzerland, who incidentally had also followed the Fremantle Doctor to Geraldton.
What this man, with no formal qualifications in the beginning, managed to do in only a few years was mind-blowing.
His story inspired my fourteen-year-old son.
Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea
Jai’s enterprise plan was to build an Apple app and sell it online.
How he would manage to do that was not known yet.
All he needed at the beginning was a goal and a rough plan. Then he could focus on and tackle each of the steps one by one.
Maybe Jai too would become an overnight success like our friend!
The wonderful thing about this kind of enterprise idea is that it starts with a child’s natural interest.
Jai already loved technology. The challenge was to help him move from consuming technology to creating with technology.
That is the opportunity parents can look for.
When a child spends hours on a device, the question is not only, “How do we stop this?”
Sometimes the better question is, “How could this passion become useful, creative or enterprising?”
Why Coding for Kids Matters
Coding for kids can teach much more than computer skills.
It can help children learn:
- problem solving,
- creative thinking,
- logic,
- design,
- persistence,
- testing and improving,
- and how to turn an idea into something real.
For Jai, coding and app development also connected with enterprise.
An app is not just a piece of technology. It can be a product. It can solve a problem. It can be sold. It can reach people far beyond your own town.
That was the part that excited him.
Learning to Code and Build Apps
Today, there are many more resources available for children and teenagers who want to explore coding and app development.
Apple’s Swift Playground is one example of a tool that helps beginners learn to code and build apps using Swift.
Apple’s education resources also show how students can move from their first line of code through to building their first app with Swift Playground.
For families, the key is not necessarily to know exactly how the whole pathway will unfold.
The key is to help a child start.
From Passion to Pathway
This post preludes Jai’s enterprise pathway.
He began with a passion for technology, a story that inspired him and a big idea that felt exciting.
He did not yet know every step.
But he had a direction.
That is often how enterprise begins.
A child sees something, hears a story, connects it with their own interests and thinks, “Maybe I could do that too.”
That moment is worth encouraging.
Jai’s Enterprise Pathway
This article is part of Jai’s enterprise journey.
- Part 1: Coding for Kids: Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea — Jai is inspired to turn his love of technology into an app idea.
- Part 2: Being an App Developer Is No Easy Feat — Jai begins discovering what app development actually involves.
- Financial Literacy for Teens: Jai and Kaitlin’s Enterprise Journey — a broader look at Jai and Kaitlin’s money goals and enterprise lessons.
In our next blog, we revisit Amber and see how she is going with her New From Old enterprise.
Key Takeaway: Coding for Kids Can Build Enterprise Thinking
Key takeaway: coding for kids can turn a child’s interest in technology into creativity, problem solving and enterprise. Jai’s Apple app idea showed us that screen time can become more meaningful when children are encouraged to create, build and follow a pathway from passion to possibility.
Where to Next?
- Explore Apple Swift Playground
- Read Being an App Developer Is No Easy Feat
- Read Financial Literacy for Teens: Jai and Kaitlin’s Enterprise Journey
- Read Amber’s New From Old enterprise
- Explore more Kids Business Ideas
What technology interest could your child turn into a creative or enterprising pathway?