...to think our baby is left handed?

[ThreeWheelsGood]

Baby sucks her left thumb, grabs for things with left hand primarily, reaches forward with left hand. She is only 4 months old, can you tell handedness at such a young age?

No, you can only tell from about 2, up until then they should be using both bass to do everything.

She does use her right hand sometimes, she just seems to show such a preference for the left.

I don't know when you can tell for sure, but my DS always favoured his left hand for picking up toys, eating etc and he is most definitely left handed.

Nope. Can't tell yet

And as it happens my 2 that suck left thumb are right handers and my right thumb sucker is left handed.

It's very early to tell. My ds is four and a half years, and he is still shwoing no clear preference, but his physiotherapist thinks he is probably left handed.

My DS always used his left hand more, and I remember mentioning to my friend when he was about 6m old that I thought he was left-handed, and she burst into laughter ( in a mocking way) and I felt embarrassed.

Well guess what, he's now 3.4 and still left-handed. So ha!

I was just excited by this little bit of individualism we'd "discovered"! Probably a bit early to be sure...

That's interesting about opposite thumb-sucking Edwinia - true for me as a child too now I think about it!

My rationalisation was that with one thumb stuck in their mouth all the time the other one becomes dominant for doing everything else...

DGD showed a very strong preference for her left hand from well under a year old (eating, reaching out for things). Now 3.10 and very definitely left handed.

Dd is 1.2 and uses her left hand for.most things. However I am rifht handed but the only thing this shows itself in is writing. With all.other tasks I can and do use either hand. Maybe shes just like me.

Me and my partner are both lefties, I'm hoping my ds is too, not sure why..

My DD has always shown a strong preference for her left hand, but for the last 6 months ( she is 3 1/2) has been writing, drawing and colouring with her right. She cannot manipulate things like a spoon, fork or throw with her write though.

Im a leftie and Im gutted none of my 3 ds re..silly really

An obvious preference for using one hand over the other at this age could indicate a possible weakness or problem with the other. If its really as clear as you think, I'd probably ask your GP to have a look. It's likely to be completely fine, but always worth checking.

I have noticed my DS using his left hand more than his right, he is only 2 months old. I thought I was being silly and reading too much into it but my DP mentioned to me last week that he thinks DS is left handed (DP never notices anything so it must be obvious!)

Bear in mind that if you are right handed then you will be giving her things to her left hand so they get used to using that more. I used to think that my dd my be left handed but she is 2 now and it's pretty much even when she draws!

Agree with squill.

Hand preference at this age can be pathological. It most often isn't but is worth bearing in mind.

My 4 and a half year old is leftie me and her dad are right handed.I noticed when she was around 10months as she ate with her left hand,picked things up with her left and done drawing using her left hand I do think 4months is too early to tell though

Dd1 is left handed, and it was quite clear from early on, maybe not as young as 4 months op! But before she was 1 certainly. She has a very strong and clear preference though, so maybe it depends how strong that preference is as to how soon it shows? I was careful never to assume that she would prefer one side or the other though, so left it up to her to choose, until she started writing and drawing at around 3 and there seemed little point as she was so obviously left handed.

Dd2 was/is very ambivalent/ambidextrous. I think she is right handed, maybe only marginally, as she still swaps hands a lot. It is only in the last year that a slight preference for one side (the right) has emerged (she is 3).

Both of them suck thumbs on their preferred side, so dd1 left and dd2 right. But I know that is not always a good indicator.

Rather than see this as an individual thing, it would be better for her if you hand her things in her right hand, play games where she can only reach things with her right hand etc

It could be that she's left handed, but more often it's a weekness in the other hand - not anything major necessarily, but it will help her if you encourage the use of her right hand rather than encourage favouring her left.

I'd say this no matter which way around it was - not because it's her left hand

Both my dc are left handed. Dd1 was very obviously left handed from just a few months old, she would also suck the fingers on her left hand etc. Dd2 wasn't so obvious so young but is now 'more' left handed than dd1.

Oh goodness now I'm worried about DS's hand usage :(