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Mouse and keyboard skills for kids: teaching your child to use a computer

By the KidStudy team8 min read

Your child can swipe through a tablet without thinking, but put them in front of a laptop and the mouse goes everywhere and the words come out as “kobilikesleaves”. Do they need to learn a mouse and keyboard, and when does it start to matter at school? Here’s how to teach mouse, trackpad and keyboard skills step by step, when typing comes up at school (including NAPLAN online), and the two habits that save tears later: saving work and shutting down properly.

Why learn a mouse and keyboard when kids can swipe?

Touchscreens are easy for young children. The eSafety Commissioner notes that by age 4, some children can find their way around the internet on a touchscreen, because they “no longer need the fine motor skills or literacy required to use a mouse and keyboard”.

That’s exactly why a mouse and keyboard take practice. Moving a pointer you can’t touch, clicking without moving, and finding letters on a keyboard all ask more of small hands and new readers. Our post on fine motor activities has play ideas that build the same hand control.

School is the other reason. In NAPLAN, “Students answer questions by clicking, typing and dragging”, and the device rules say a physical keyboard is required on laptops and desktop computers.

How to teach a child to use a mouse or trackpad

Do it in this order, a few minutes at a time, ideally in a drawing program where every move makes a mark.

  1. Move and watch. Rest a hand on the mouse, or a finger on the trackpad, and slide it slowly. Point out that the pointer on the screen moves too.
  2. Click once to choose. Point at something, keep the mouse still, and press once. Keeping still while clicking is the tricky part.
  3. Double-click to open. Two fast clicks open a folder or program. Practise on a folder until both clicks land in the same spot.
  4. Drag to move. Hold the button down, move, then let go. Try dragging a picture into a folder.
Mouse moves and handy keys
Do thisWhat happens
Click onceChooses something
Double-clickOpens it
DragMoves it
Space barMakes a gap between words
EnterStarts a new line
Backspace (Windows)Deletes the letter to the left of the cursor
Delete (Windows)Deletes the letter to the right of the cursor
Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command-Z (Mac)Undoes the last thing you did
Ctrl+S (Windows, in programs such as Word) or Command-S (Mac)Saves your work

Which keyboard skills come first?

Start with your child’s name. Finding each letter, then pressing the space bar before their surname, teaches a lot in one go. Next come Enter for a new line and Backspace for fixing a mistake. Undo is a great confidence booster: Ctrl+Z or Command-Z takes back the last thing you typed.

Keep it real and short. Type a shopping list together, a birthday message for Nan, or captions for a drawing. Let your child press the keys while you help find letters, rather than taking over.

When does typing matter at school?

The curriculum has children using laptops and tablets from the first years of school (see below), and NAPLAN in Year 3 is the first big moment many parents notice.

  • Year 3: the NAPLAN writing test is on paper. ACARA says “All Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper.” Reading, conventions of language and numeracy are online.
  • Years 5, 7 and 9: “Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 undertake all NAPLAN tests online”, including writing. They can still draft ideas on paper.
  • Mouse or touch: any “Mouse, trackpad, touchpad or touch screen or other pointing device with which the student is familiar” can be used. A physical keyboard is optional on tablets.

ACARA’s public demonstration site shows the types of questions, including drag-and-drop, so your child can see how they work. ACARA also says “Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN”, so there’s no need for typing drills. Our post on NAPLAN explained for parents covers the dates and results.

Saving work and shutting down properly

Children often think the computer keeps their work automatically. Some programs do, but many don’t, so practise saving and then finding the work again.

  • Save: Command-S saves the current document on a Mac, and Ctrl+S saves in Windows programs such as Word. Give the file a name your child can read.
  • Shut down on Windows: select Start, then Power, then Shut down.
  • Shut down on a Mac: choose Shut Down from the Apple menu.

Closing a laptop lid often puts it to sleep instead. Microsoft explains that sleep “uses very little power” and gets you back to where you left off, which is handy for a short break. Shutting down closes everything properly at the end of the day.

Looking after the computer

KidStudy’s lesson teaches three simple habits: wash and dry your hands first, keep food and drinks away from the keyboard, and shut down properly. Apple’s cleaning advice agrees on liquids: “Keep liquids away from the product”. The eSafety Commissioner suggests keeping “the computer or device in an area of your home that can be supervised”. For tablets, our guide to setting up an iPad for kids covers the settings.

What children learn at school

In Victoria, children from Foundation to Level 2 learn to “identify and explore digital systems including hardware and software components for a purpose” (VC2TDI2S01), with the example of “using a touchpad to move the cursor on a laptop, or a keyboard to type a simple message on a tablet”. They also learn to “explore and use the basic features of common digital tools to create, locate and communicate content for a diverse audience” (VC2TDI2D02). By Level 3, English includes “using digital tools to plan, sequence, compose and edit texts” (VC2E3LY11), and Levels 3 and 4 include naming and organising folders and files.

In the Australian Curriculum, Years 1 and 2 children “identify and explore digital systems and their components for a purpose” (AC9TDI2K01) and “use the basic features of common digital tools to create, locate and communicate content” (AC9TDI2P04).

KidStudy’s Year 1 Coding lesson, Using a Computer, covers pressing the power button, moving the mouse or trackpad, clicking, double-clicking and dragging, the space bar, enter, backspace and delete keys, saving your work, shutting down, and keeping food and drinks away. Its 10-minute home activity, Computer driver, has your child wash their hands, start the computer with you, type their name in a drawing or writing program, save it and shut down properly.

Questions parents ask

What age should a child learn to use a mouse?

In Victoria, using a touchpad and a keyboard is an example in the Foundation to Level 2 curriculum, which covers the first three years of school. Short, playful practice in a drawing program is a good way in.

Is Year 3 NAPLAN on a computer?

Mostly. Year 3 reading, conventions of language and numeracy are online, and the Year 3 writing test is on paper. From Year 5, all NAPLAN tests are online.

Does my child need to touch type for NAPLAN?

ACARA’s NAPLAN pages don’t mention touch typing, and say students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. Being comfortable clicking, typing and dragging helps, and the public demonstration site lets children try the question types.

How do I teach my child to double-click?

Point at a folder, keep the mouse still and press twice quickly. Practise keeping the hand still between the two clicks, and make it a game: how many folders can you open?

What is the difference between backspace and delete?

On Windows, Backspace deletes the letter to the left of the cursor and Delete removes the letter to the right.

Should my child shut down the computer or just close it?

Closing the lid usually puts a laptop to sleep, which is fine for a short break. At the end of the day, save your work and shut down from the Start menu (Windows) or Apple menu (Mac).

Sources

Related lesson

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