Children are able to learn spelling words, write reports, send letters or email and navigate the Internet. For young children, keyboading skills lead to higher achievement in spelling, vocabulary and literary composition. As soon as they are needed. For early elementary children, Y, N, Q and entering their name are often the only typing requirements. But even with this age group, some newer typing programs have successfully integrated phonics and word association into keyboarding lessons.
Children can now learn to read and write at the same time they learn to type.
I recently put a 7 yr old child on typing tutorial program. For starters, he had a good typing program, with a variety of interesting content. His dad also helped him set goals and provided incentives. Soon, the child was intensely self-competitive. There is no drudgery in typing because he eagerly anticipates his rewards.