Left handed toddler

[shrinkingnora]

DS2 (17 months) seems to be left handed. He favours the left for eating, picking up toys, pointing etc As he gets older, what things do we need to get to make this easier for him (obviously only if he continues to show this preference)? I assume left handed scissors but what else?!

[roundthehouses]

I wouldn´t worry about it for now. I think it can take a long time for hand preference to become fixed. ds (now 4) initially showed a very strong preference for his left hand, at 3.5 when he started pre school he was quite fidgety and constantly moved his pen between hands. Now he seems pretty settled on the right.

[shrinkingnora]

Interesting - because the other two both showed a strong preference for right hands from a very early age I assumed it woud be the same thing. I shall watch and wait....

[MrsColumbo]

If you can, get a left handed person to teach him how to tie his shoelaces, though - both my parents are righties and found it hard to teach me the other way round.

[Hev2008]

As a leftie, I was given left handed scissors at playgroup but there weren't any at school so I had to relearn.
I now do lots of things right handed as that's how I was taught, so I guess this happens for other lefties as they have to adapt to a right handed world.
Hope your son gets on well, whichever hand he favours.

[Mummyloveskisses]

DD now 3.6yrs showed a preferance to left until she was about 2.6yrs and now always uses her right.... DS2 is 15 months and does everything with his left! But I agree with roundthehouses its definately not set in stone, and children often start reception without a dominant hand, its usually during the first school year they settle on one or the other.

[shrinkingnora]

Thank for taking the time to reply - good advice about the shoelaces! I shall repost the query when he's four if he's still using his left hand

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

DD is 3.5 and has been left handed since day 1. Absolutely and totally left handed. So far I've not done anything different. I bought left handed scissors but she doesn't use them yet.

[MadderHat]

Teach him how to use lefty scissors in the left and righty ones in the right and he'll be able to use any he lays his hands on. Teach him NOT to use righty ones on the left as it hurts and can break the scissors and chew what you're cutting.
Teach him to make sure he has the space to write and draw, look into left handed letter formation and paper angling and make sure he doesn't get into bad habits, then he'll be able to write legibly and quickly.

[peanutbutterkid]

He's a bit young for scissors and writing, no?!
(Actually the lefties in this household mostly prefer to use RH scissors with their RH, but that's another issue).

I was convinced that DS2 was RH until suddenly when he was 3.5yo I realised he used both hands for most things; now (7yo) it's LH for writing and RH for scissors & eating.

[5inthebed]

DS1 was prominantly left handed from a young age.

You don't need to make any allowances, except for left handed scissors.

[FriskyMare]

I'ma leftie for writing, eating(using a spoon) and sewing but bizzarely knit right handedly and use scissors in my right hand but will swap hands when peeling then chopping! i remember the woodwork teacher asking if anyone was left handed and patiently teaching me how to use the tools for me to then naturally use my right hand. Never found my lefthandedness a problem.

[bandgeek]

God I never considered the shoelaces before! I'm a lefty but both my dc are righties, so guess I'll have to get DH to teach them that

FWIW I never had any special help with anything growing up, just had to learn to adapt using things such as scissors withy left hand.

[sarahtigh]

I'm left handed can use scissors with either hand but only write with left, bowl right handed but play tennis left handed eat with fork in left knife in right but use spoon with left hand and carve meat with left hand mother said i looked dangerous peeling potatoes with left hand.

have never found being left handed a problem except when they want you try sign sometihng and it has tiny chain, left handed kids often write on a slope as there is not enough room to keep paper straight without bumping elbows watch for this as I always write with paper straight it helps never to start doing things the wrong way just to accommodate others ledft handed scissors are wonderful though but if they go out of house scratch name on with compass point as they are much more expensive to replace.

When I started training as dentist they did not make any allowances but had just started setting up surgeries so you could drill left handed without cable across patients chest, and being able to use forceps in both hands makes extracting teeth much easier.

[shrinkingnora]

I work in a school and we have loads of left handed scissors. We also make sure we seat left handers to the left of right handers so their elbows don't bang!

Things like dentistry never occurred to me at all!

[TheRealMBJ]

I'm a lefty (quite strongly but do knit R-handed) and although I can get by using right handed tools in my left hand, I much prefer left-handed scissors etc.

However, I'd wait to see how he gets on and let him find his natural side on his own before rushing out to get special 'left-handed' stuff. As other's have said it isstillvery early and his preferences may well change.