At what age did your kid learn to touch type?

Question

My son 6yo son types occasionally - emails to mom when she's away, Google Docs for things he wants to print, and responding to small prompts in apps.If I do nothing, his typing speed will increase over time, and he'll probably learn to touch type in some way, but he won't be using the correct finger for each key.I know from experience that this habit will be hard to break: it took me over 100 hours of typing to correct my fingering and reach the same wpm I had before.I figure I should get him to learn proper technique from the start. I'm considering having him use https://www.typingclub.com/kids-typing (aimed at kids up to 1st grade). He's responded OK to the first few lessons, but I wonder:- will it get boring over time?- how much weekly practice will he need?- has this or anything else worked well for other kids?Since folks on HN probably care about typing speed more than most people, I figure some folks here will have taught their kids to type at a relative young age.Any experiences to share, or any tips?

drakonka · Accepted Answer

This seems like it might be premature optimization. Have you seen any particular tendencies to bad typing habits already that aren't normal for a 6-year-old? Maybe wait a while to see how his typing develops on its own?
By the time we had typing lessons in school I was already touch typing anyway, self-taught from writing stories and getting into silly arguments on AOL chat where you tried to type over each other. I got regular access to a computer at around 12 and was touch typing by 13. Fingers tend to fall into more efficient positions naturally with more typing. I may not use 100% perfect form for every single key (for example, I tend to use my left ring finger instead of little finger for "q"), but it's certainly not a case of index-fingering everything or being super slow (I've gotten to 190ish WPM and have won typing speed/accuracy competitions in high school).
Maybe it's worth seeing which way he goes as he starts typing more and if you actually start noticing his speed/accuracy becoming a problem then looking into some typing games? On the other hand, maybe my experience was just pure luck and this is bad advice.

stonecharioteer · Answer

I wish I'd learnt how to touch-type as a child. I typed with 3 fingers on teach hand for years before forcing myself to learn touch-typing in 2019, when I was serving my notice at a job. It's the best decision I made. I have a nephew whose father made him learn touch-typing at a very young age. But I type far faster than he does. I'm not sure if it's because I actively practised while he already had the correct form so he never pushed himself. Either way, I am not sure that I'd have had it any other way. Instead, I'd get him an ergonomic keyboard earlier on so he is sort of forced to learn the right form. Get him into split mechanical keyboards, perhaps. That could make things fun. You cannot type with 3 fingers on each hand with OLKBs.

MilnerRoute · Answer

I took a typing class when I was 8 -- but I don't know that I really learned to touch type from that, though. Maybe it helped me feel comfortable with keyboards, but I don't think I attained the rigorous discipline of touch typing - it was just too easy to look at the keys.
But I had a little book of typing exercises that I came back to in 8th grade. (And then in 9th grade my high school offered a one-year class, and I ended up with the fastest typing speed in the class.) Looking back, I'd say that it's easy to learn to touch-type if you're motivated and want to -- and can stick with practicing for a long-enough period that it sinks in.
At some point it becomes self-reinforcing -- because you can touch-type, you start typing letters to your friends and papers for school...which gives you all the practice you need.

KenPainter · Answer

I taught myself at about 13 on a trs-80. My high school taught us in 9th grade. My kids were never taught.