At what age is it best to start learning touch typing?

Between the ages of 6 and 12 y.o. a child is most acceptable to learning long-lasting skills such as touch-typing.  

Let’s talk about typing skills, students and parents! Did you know ages 6-12 are the magic years for wiring up quick typing abilities that can last a lifetime? It’s true! This is when hand muscles and the brain are ultra receptive to new patterns.

You might be wondering why it matters. After all, kids eventually have to type essays and texts regardless. Here’s the exciting part though: with early guidance in the right technique, you can open up typing superpowers! We’re talking video game high score speeds, writing without getting tired, and being able to keep up with all your epic ideas.

 

Without nurturing good form early on, you risk missing out. Bad habits kick in quicker than you think – just hunting and pecking when you’re young can already limit your powers later! So let’s vow to build your typing the right way from the start. Trust me, your future self with the coolest stories and snazziest keyboards will thank you.

 

 

What happens after 14 y.o. to our typing skills? 

So what really happens to our typing superpowers after age 14? Well, science shows your hands and brain don’t pick up new tricks as fast anymore.

When you were younger, it was like your typing ability could level up instantly like a video game character. By high school, it’s more of a grind to get your wpm and accuracy up. Your nerves and muscles start wanting to stick to habits they know.

It becomes tougher to wire your hands to dance perfectly over the keyboard or break old typing quirks. Where a middle schooler might unlock expert touch typing naturally, it would take you practicing hard for months.

The good news is you can still boost your typing chops with training at any age! But if you want to type crazy fast or avoid straining your hands later in life, it’s a smart move start building those skills now. Consider it investing early in your keyboarding superpowers.

The longer you wait, the more effort it’ll take. So put in some work getting friendly with those keys – future you will thank you every time you type a paper or story with no problem! Below is an illustration of a diminishing ability to master typing the longer one waits.


Conclusion

Although the attention span of a child is somewhat small, it is worth encouraging the child to learn at least the basics of the correct finger placement. Very likely these skills will migrate to the child’s long-term memory after only a few sessions. After that this basic skill will get a chance to improve more and more on its own. But without these few attempts a wrong typing skill will rather take over the habits, which will be harder and harder to relearn.

Other thoughts

Want to take your typing game to new levels? The skills you build now in your fingers and brain will shape your keyboarding powers for life.

Practice the right techniques today and you’ll hit high speeds, ace essays with ease later, and avoid hand cramps. But wait too long to override bad habits and you’ll get stuck on noob wpm forever!

Sure you can text friends fine now, but the difference between good and great typing is massive when tackling big projects. Upgrading early pays off for work and fun.

So rather than settle as an intermediate typist by default, invest some time now honing your keyboarding dexterity to pro levels. Think of it as training to master a musical instrument or sport when natural talent peaks. Your future typing XP will thank you!

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