Two different skills
Coding is how you instruct a computer step by step. AI literacy is how you understand systems that learn from data — their strengths, limits, and risks.
Both matter long term. Most young children benefit from literacy first: conceptual foundations before syntax.
Why literacy before code camps
Children meet AI in consumer products years before they write a loop.
Without mental models, chatbots feel like magic — or infallible oracles.
Literacy builds questions: Who trained this? What data? Could this be unfair?
Coding camps often assume comfort with abstract logic; literacy meets kids where they are.
When coding makes sense
If your child loves puzzles, games, and building — block coding or Python may be a great next step after ages 10–12.
Pair coding with ethics: 'Your program only does what you wrote; ML systems behave differently.'
How CROODI fits
CROODI is AI literacy, not a coding bootcamp. Younger worlds use zero code; older worlds introduce precise vocabulary without open model-building or chat. Many families use CROODI first, then add coding when motivation is clear.