Are you smarter than a four year old?

With the new board game called “Robot Turtles” that can be a possibility. This board game teaches kids how to code at an early age. “Robot Turtle” is now one of the most funded board games in Kickstarter history. The board game is being priced at $24.99 and will be ready to ship in June.  It was originally asking for $25,000 but has received more than $63,000 in pledges. Can you learn to code? Are you smarter than a four year old?

Former Google programmer Dan Shapiro created the game because he wanted to share his love of coding with his kids. He designed the game to teach kids how to code in a non-traditional game, so that kids would be able to pick up the most basic and essential skills of coding. Dan wanted to give parents a chance to involve their kids in tech literacy, when they previously had no way of doing so. The child plays the role of a computer programmer and the adult is the computer. The child picks one of the four turtles (purple, blue, yellow and red) and the object of the game is for the child to create a code that the adult has to follow. This eventually leads their turtle to a jewel and they win the game.

Amazing, who knew there were so many kids interested in coding as a hobby. When I was 4 I relished in the fact that I was able to hang upside from the monkey bars for a full five minutes without falling on my head and causing some serious brain damage. Seriously though, kids now are getting advantages now that we never had as kids. They are getting a head start on their education and an idea of what they want to be. So does this mean we the adults will be kicked out the door the moment these kids finally learn how to tie their shoes? The odds are in favor of the kids for sure and it’s just not because of “Robot Turtle”.  Kids nowadays are being immersed in technology and being exposed to basic skills that most of us didn’t learn until we were in preschool.

We have all experienced how smart kids can be firsthand. Kids are more eager to learn and be exposed to new and unfamiliar experiences.  They are curious and are always questioning adults and expecting answers. It’s great, but let’s hope that they won’t put us all out of a job.

Patricia Ferreira, Raven5 Ltd, Oakville, Ontario, February 2014.

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