‘Children who most need to touch-type are those who want to go further in education, but so many professions use computers, even if it’s just for customer records, and yet you’ll stand in the garage, optician or carpet shop and watch staff typing with one finger.’Įvidence shows that learning to touch-type can be a particular benefit for children with dyslexia. ‘If you put yourself next to a touch-typist, you’ll be about half the speed,’ she explains. Parents sometimes take the attitude that, ‘I can’t touch-type and I manage just fine, so why should my child learn?’ But Sue says that while you may think you’re managing well as a one- or two-finger typist, that’s not the case. ‘Children who learn in primary school will reap the benefits in secondary and beyond.’Ħ. ‘In secondary schools, most coursework is expected to be typed, and being able to touch-type by the time you’re at university and writing essays of thousands of words could save you 350 hours over the course of your degree,’ Sue says. With pupils still having to handwrite the majority of their work at primary school, and complete exams on paper, parents often question the necessity of learning to touch-type. It sets them up for secondary school and beyond ‘Touch-typing can be learnt later on, either at secondary school or in adulthood, but the later you leave it, the more bad habits you’ll have to unlearn. ‘Age seven or thereabouts is ideal, because their hands are the right size, they have the concentration span, and because they love being on the computer, they’re motivated to learn,’ Sue explains.

Touch-typing may seem a rather grown-up skill, but primary school kids are perfectly placed to learn. Primary age is the best time to learn to type ‘Why wouldn’t you want to give your child that advantage?’Ĥ. ‘A child who can’t touch-type will produce work at half the speed of a child who can,’ she says.

John Sutherland, professor of English literature at University College, says, ‘You want to put wings on the heels of your children? Teach them to touch-type. Touch-typing gives kids an advantage over their peers

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