The coolaid is strong in this one ...
... Use the force, finesse is not really important.
This competition is finished. Conrad Schnitzler
If I'm being honest I dislike hearing software development referred to as “coding”: to me the “coding” aspect – actually bashing the code in and debugging it – is relatively straightforward compared with the design function that should precede it.
Yes! What he said! I've been moaning for ages that all these 'teach kids coding' initiatives miss the point: any fule can bash out some code that will compile, even some that will produce meaningful results for a range of inputs, but nobody teaches kids how to understand a user requirement... or select/design efficient data structures... or build test harnesses to test code using unexpected or corrupted inputs...
A coder is not a software developer, the coding bit is essential but not sufficient, and exposing young minds to the fine detail of specific languages too soon can (in my opinion) limit their later ability to think outside that language's limitations.