How to teach a child to type at home

Last reviewed October 23, 2026

You don't need to be a fast typist to teach one. You need a plan, a real keyboard, and a few minutes most days. Here's the approach we'd suggest, start to finish.

When to start

There isn't one right age. Look for readiness instead (our guide to what age kids should learn to type goes deeper):

• Your child knows most letters and can read simple words.
• Their hands are big enough to rest four fingers on the home row without stretching.
• They can sit and focus for about ten minutes.

Home Row Mojo is built for kids roughly 6 to 12, and that range is a reasonable guide. Younger kids can explore the keyboard; older beginners learn the same way, just faster.

What you need

• A physical keyboard. Touch typing is learned by feel, so a tablet's on-screen keyboard won't build the skill. A laptop is fine. A plug-in keyboard is even better because you can set it at a comfortable height.
• A chair and table that fit. Feet flat (a box under them is fine), elbows roughly level with the keyboard.
• A printed finger chart for the first couple of weeks. Here's a free keyboard finger chart.

How long to practice

Short and often. The "Keyboarding Skills" advice sheet from Oxford Health NHS Children's Integrated Therapies suggests practising touch typing for 10 to 15 minutes each day for the first six weeks (checked October 23, 2026). Stop while it's still going well. A good session ends with your kid wanting one more turn.

The order to teach

1. Home row first. A S D F and J K L ;, with index fingers on the F and J bumps and thumbs on Space. See home row keys.
2. G and H. Index fingers reach toward the middle and come back.
3. Top row, then bottom row. A few keys at a time, left hand then right.
4. Fixing mistakes. Backspace, and a calm "spot it, erase it, type it right" habit.
5. Numbers, punctuation, and capitals.
6. Speed, only after accuracy is steady.
7. Extras: the number pad and the special keys, like Tab and Esc.

Five habits worth protecting

1. Eyes on the screen. Peeking is normal at first. Gently remind, don't scold.
2. Reach, tap, return home. Only the reaching finger moves.
3. Accuracy before speed. Fast and messy builds habits that are hard to undo.
4. Light taps. No pounding.
5. Breaks. If hands or eyes are tired, stop for the day.

What to skip

• Timed tests on day one. Speed scores early on tend to push kids into looking at their hands.
• Long sessions. Forty-five minutes once a week is less useful than ten minutes most days.
• Hunt-and-peck "just this once." It's tempting for homework, but every time counts as practice.

Making it stick

• Use real reasons to type. A note to a grandparent, a list for the store, a short story.
• Let games be the reward. Practice first, game after.
• Notice progress out loud. "You didn't look down once" is a big deal.

How to know it's working

You'll see three things, roughly in this order: fingers find home without looking, mistakes drop, and then speed creeps up without anyone pushing it. If you'd like rough benchmarks, see typing speed by age, but don't let a number set the pace.

Where Home Row Mojo fits

Home Row Mojo follows this order. It starts with Meet the Home Row, a guided lesson with an on-screen keyboard, then opens drill levels one at a time, each passed at 90% accuracy. Nine lessons cover the home, top, and bottom rows, fixing mistakes, numbers, punctuation and Shift, the number pad, number pad math, and a tour of the special keys. Twelve games give kids a reason to come back.

You can try Home Row Mojo free as a guest, with no account and no credit card. The free version includes Drills Levels 1 to 3 and two games on Easy, which is plenty to see if it fits your child.