Teaching Kids to Type: A Guide for Parents and Teachers
· 6 min read
Typing is a core skill for school and almost every future job. Kids who learn proper technique early avoid years of slow hunt-and-peck habits. Here's how to make it work.
When should kids learn to type?
Most children are ready for touch typing at around 7 or 8 years old, when their hands are big enough to rest on the home row and they can read short words fluently. Younger children can still play with the keyboard and learn letter positions, but formal lessons work best from second or third grade.
How long should kids practice?
Short and regular is the rule:
| Age | Session length | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 7-8 | 10 minutes | 4-5 days a week |
| 9-11 | 15 minutes | 4-5 days a week |
| 12+ | 15-20 minutes | 3-5 days a week |
At this pace, most kids complete a full touch typing course in two to three months.
Speed targets by grade
| Grade | Target WPM | Target accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 5-10 | 85% |
| 3rd | 10-15 | 90% |
| 4th | 15-20 | 90% |
| 5th | 20-25 | 92% |
| 6th | 25-30 | 92% |
| 7th-8th | 30-40 | 94% |
Celebrate accuracy as much as speed. A careful 15 WPM typist will become a fast typist; a sloppy 25 WPM typist often gets stuck.
Keeping kids motivated
- Stars and badges. Each lesson awards up to three stars, and kids unlock badges as they improve.
- Games. Our typing games practice the same skills in a playful way.
- Visible progress. Take a kids typing test every week and chart the results together.
- Friendly competition. Multiplayer races with siblings or classmates are a big motivator.
Tips for parents
- Make sure they use the correct fingers from the very first lesson.
- Discourage looking at the keyboard - a small cloth over the hands works wonders.
- Check posture: feet supported, back straight, screen at eye level.
- Practice together. Kids love beating their parents in a race.
Tips for teachers
Create a free class to give students a join code and see each student's progress and best scores in one place. Start every lesson with a two-minute warm-up and end with a short game.
Ready? Start with lesson 1 of the home row unit.