I rather have my kids play outside, enjoy the nature and our beautiful planet.
This is, of course, a projection of my dissatisfaction with the industry as a whole, but I think it's still valid.
However, if you look at where most kids spend their time, a lot of it would be in front of the TV or watching online videos or playing games.
I think the people who want kids to code, want coding time as a replacement for watching mindless videos, not as a replacement for outdoor time.
So your kid plays outside and then comes in and instead of watching another toy unboxing video, codes up a simple game they can play by themselves or with their friends.
Simply telling your kid to limit their use of a device only goes so far.
My four year old said she wanted to make a game with me because she loves games (and dad's a programmer). So I started a project in Scratch and told her a little about the blocks and we got something moving on the screen in an afternoon.
It was magical for her to have an idea and see it come to life, just a little bit, on the screen. Yes, I'm doing 95% of the work and I know most of the programming concepts are lost on her, but even if she's picking up a tiny bit of logic it's worth doing with your kids if they're interested. It still feels like quality bonding time.
But your right. IMHO Nothing beats a hike in the woods, or better yet learning to build something from raw materials found in the woods (which in turn could have the same effect).
I don't think kids, in general, should be learning to code. Most of them will hate it. But to some, coding is like piano, ballet, or painting: a form of art and of play. Those kids will need resources the most; and they need to enjoy their time spent programming while childhood lasts.
If I lived in the same part of the world as them, I’d definitely be playing with them outside too :)