Help prevent quarantine brain drain with these 32 amazing coding toys (Photo: Reviewed.com Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent closing of schools, more and more parents are looking for novel ways to keep their kids' education on track. Fortunately, there are a number of online learning resources are available for kids of all ages. One extremely useful skill that kids can learn remotely is computer programming. Coding is becoming essential knowledge because the world runs on computers, and computers themselves run on code. I had the chance to try out 32 toys, games, and kits that are aimed at teaching children how to code, listed here in order of age--if you're looking for kits for older kids, skip to the middle or end of the list. Full reviews for each coding kit can be found in our full Reviewed roundup. The Hasbro Code-a-Pillar is a great way to get kids thinking about programming basics. This is coding at its most basic.

If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY's newsroom and any business incentives. Shopping can be tough when it comes to the kids in your life; sometimes it seems like all they need is a mobile device to play on, and they're all set. If they're already on a phone or tablet, though, why not buy them a toy that uses that screen time to good effect? One trend in toys today is to set children up on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) path early with toys or games that encourage kids to learn and explore the fundamentals of computer programming while having fun at the same time.