Parents in the UK are being left in the dark by their tech-savvy kids using jargon words like "algorithm", which they have learnt as part of the new school curriculum.

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 admit being staggered to hear their youngsters babbling on about "hyperlinks", "pop-ups" and "downloads".

Meanwhile, seven in 10 parents claim to have heard their children saying words like "bug", "cookie" and "algorithm".

Child at a computer

But while most parents have some knowledge of computers, a quarter admit they would be out of their depth if it came to helping with homework related to computer coding.

More than half of parents polled admit that if their child did bring work home from school on coding they would just leave them to it, with 74% wishing they understood more.

"British children are among the most advanced when it comes to their knowledge of computing and coding," said a spokesperson for Fisher-Price, which recently launched its new pre-school learning toy, Code-a-Pillar.

"Mums and dads are quick to recognise the benefits of their children learning coding at such a young age, with a large majority of parents saying the new curriculum will encourage their children to think creatively, logically, and independently.

arguing family

"Parents also believe that learning coding and programming will benefit children in later years when they start job hunting.

"But this rapid rise of the digital revolution means that some parents who aren't exposed to the same language on a daily basis could struggle to keep up with their little ones."

A third of parents claim they don't have any understanding of coding, and almost nine in 10 parents 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.

Two thirds of mums and dads admit they lack awareness of modern technology and its elements, and 60% 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 study indicates 28% of parents believe their child is already proficient at using websites and other internet services.

In addition, 16% of children aged 3-8 can use child-friendly programming languages and 13% can create a simple program of their own.

Dragging and dropping visual blocks of code, manipulating content and debugging simple programs are other skills frequently demonstrated by children under eight, but which most parents will be unfamiliar with.

As researchers discovered, 55% of parents think education has changed so much since they went to school they find it harder to help their own children with their school work.

However, two thirds of parents say the new curriculum will encourage their children to think creatively and accurately, while 68% say it helps children to be logical and independent.

Learning coding and programming will benefit children in later years when they start job hunting, according to 74% of parents.

"The roles can be reversed when it comes to coding," the Fisher-Price spokesperson added.

"Typically, mums and dads are the ones to help, educate and assist their little ones but in the case of coding, children are the ones in charge.

"Rather than turning to mum and dad to help with a simple programming issue, or to imbed a picture, children have to draw on their own experiences and teach their parents everything they have been taught at school."

Top 10 coding words used by the UK's 3-8 year olds

  1. User interface

  2. Pop-ups

  3. Cookie

  4. Algorithm

  5. Virus

  6. Hyperlink

  7. Icons

  8. Debug

  9. Bug

  10. Database