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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Is 15mo too early to tell if DS is left-handed?

34 replies

MegBusset · 03/06/2008 14:53

He shows a preference for holding forks, spoons etc in his left hand and using it to play with toys. Just wondering if it's too early for left-handedness to show and if I ought to encourage him to use the left hand when eating, playing with crayons etc or just let him work it out for himself?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

claricebeansmum · 03/06/2008 14:54

Does it matter?

Leave him be - don't encourage one way or the other. It will come naturally.

bubblagirl · 03/06/2008 15:10

my ds when younger used left hand for nearly everything when he got to 2 he started using right hand to hold pencils etc yet still uses his left hand but beings he uses right hand to use pencils he has been classed as right handed

funnypeculiar · 03/06/2008 15:15

According to dd's physio yesterday, handed-ness isn't settled by 2 (dd's age). Just let him do what he wants

bubblagirl · 03/06/2008 15:20

my ds is now 3 and still uses right hand for holding crayons so has been told is right handed on this basis and his observations when being assessed

asteamedpoater · 03/06/2008 22:19

A tendency to left handedness tends to become apparent sooner than a tendency to right handedness. However, many "left handers" are not exclusively left handed - they may use their left hand for most things, but use their right hand for some things, too (eg racket sports, using scissors, etc). It's better not to encourage the use of one hand or the other so early on, in case you encourage the wrong one!

My mother thought I was going to be left handed, because I used my left hand for most things as a baby. However, I didn't establish "handedness" until I was nearly 6 and, when I did, I ended up right handed (although could probably be classified as fairly ambidextrous, as I'm pretty good even at writing with my left hand, albeit I prefer to use my right for everything).

Meandmyjoe · 04/06/2008 09:36

I was left handed from day one and sill am! Apparently I hardly ever reached out for things with my right hand but if I did I would transfer it over to my left hand. The only thing I use my fight hand exclusively for is using scissors. I don't think it's too early to tell but he may change it again when he gets writing.

posieparker · 04/06/2008 09:38

My mother eats correctly even though she is left handed and so does my ds and plays the violin right handed. He's left footed and left handed for writing, we knew from very early but just let him get on with it.

wilbur · 04/06/2008 09:42

I don't think it's too early to have an inkling - ds1 was clearly LH from a v early age - but you don't need to "do" anything to encourage him either way. Just let him decide as he may switch back and forth for years yet.

AbbeyA · 04/06/2008 09:45

Leave him to it. I shouldn't encourage one way or the other. I am completely left handed although eat correctly. DS1 is right handed and left footed, DS 2 is left handed for writing but right handed for tennis, rounders etc and left footed. DS 3 is completely right handed.

deaconblue · 04/06/2008 17:23

we noticed ds' left-handedness at about 15 months and now at 25 months he still seems left handed. I still always offer the fork, crayon etc to the gap between his hands though so that he chooses whihc hand to take it with so that I'm not determining it for him iykwim

Original poster

MegBusset · 04/06/2008 17:25

Thanks all for your replies, it's really interesting to see how much it can chop and change as they get older, I didn't know you could be right-handed for some things and left-handed for others!

OP posts:

AbbeyA · 04/06/2008 17:40

Neither did I! It may be why he is dyslexic!

JackJacksmummy · 04/06/2008 17:54

my DS showed signs of being left handed quite early on, he's 3 and half now and still very left handed.

Although he uses a mouse on the right hand side perfectly well - probably took longer than a natural right hander but has adapted to it himself. We didn't force him to use it with his right hand - to begin with he got the 2 buttons mixed up so we used the settings on the control panel to change them for him to being for a left hander, we changed it after a week because we were getting confused.

For everything else he is VERY left handed.

MogTheForgetfulCat · 04/06/2008 21:59

My DS1 broke his right arm at 18 months , so a bit older, and initially struggled to cope with eating and all sorts of things, so have assumed on that basis that he is probably going to be right-handed. Having said that, he adapted really quickly, so maybe they are pretty much ambidextrous at this age?

ja9 · 04/06/2008 22:03

yes it's too early. children generally swap between the two hands, not settling on a preference until around 5yo.

it doesn't matter what hand he uses. DO NOT try and encourage him one way or the other. just leave him to it. his natural preference is best.

ChasingSquirrels · 04/06/2008 22:09

I noticed my ds1's at around 3mo - as soon as he reached out for something it was with his left, he always transferred things that you have him to his left, from as soon as he worked out that he could.
He is now (5.8y) very much left handed, with everything.

Piffle · 04/06/2008 22:15

ds1- obviously left handed from day dot. Has not strayed and is 14 now.
dd- ambidextrous til 4 now 5.5 she can chop or change but essentially right handed.

Ds2 15 mths no idea. Equally destructive with both hands.

Sawyer64 · 04/06/2008 22:19

My DS is Left handed,and showed a preference for this before he could walk(16 months)

When he could kick a ball he always used his Left Foot.

He eats in a Right Handed manner,but that makes sense to me as when he used a spoon only he used his Left Hand,his most dexterous(sp?)is obviously his left,so his fork goes in that hand now,its us Right handed people that are strange IMO as we put our knife in our most dexterous hand!.

Its difficult to teach things to a left handed child though like Tying Shoe Laces etc.
Certain things have to be Left handed though,like Recorders.I think Scissors have changed as he had to have Left handed ones as a young child ,but not now.

jellybelly2007 · 04/06/2008 22:39

DS1 (almost 11 yo) is LH and I suspect DS2(9 mo) will be too.
DS1 eats, plays guitar, tennis, cricket etc RH but uses left for writing.
DS2 reaches for things more with his left than his right.

IMO it doesnt matter if you 'encourage' a hand, as PIL (both LH) were determined that DH would also be LH (adopted, were yearning for a resemblence)to the point where they would put his right hand behind his back and make him write LH. (nitwits)
DH is RH, with no confusion at all.
PIL still say GC are 'just like them' though, on account of being LH. even though there clearly is no bloodline. (eh?)

SecretSquirrelandMoroccoMole · 04/06/2008 22:40

It is too young. I think they show a preference sometime between 2 and 3. My DS used to prefer the right hand, now he's ambi.

Apparently lefthanders bay at the moon, though, so keep an eye out next time it's full. Then you'll know for sure.

asteamedpoater · 04/06/2008 22:42

Here's an interesting one... My son has always insisted on writing and drawing with his left hand, he also finger feeds with his left hand, brushes his teeth and wipes his bum with his left hand, but give him a spoon to eat with and he uses his right hand. Give him a knife and it's back to left hand for cutting, but any spoon or scoop-like action (eg in the sand pit) and his right hand comes out to do it. I find this slightly bizarre - I've never known a left hander choose their right hand to eat with a spoon. Perhaps I was too bossy when he was a baby about putting it into his right hand?!!!

Any other left handers out there who are like this?

Original poster

MegBusset · 04/06/2008 22:43

PSML Jellybelly, when I was a kid I used to wish I was left-handed (don't ask me why) and started wearing a watch on my right wrist, and still do to this day despite being stubbornly right-handed!

OP posts:

Flum · 04/06/2008 22:44

Yep, we could tell with DD straight away, as soon as she started to pick things up really. She is 4 and she is left handed and she writes everything backwards.

ravenAK · 04/06/2008 22:48

Ds (3 1/2) clearly left handed - think we knew from age 18 months or so. My dad's thrilled about this, being a lefty himself (to the extent that I'm a bit jealous!)

Dd1 (2) equally obviously right handed.

Think it does switch back & forth with some children, but ours quite definite from before 2.

Mammina · 04/06/2008 22:55

asteamedpoater, I know where your son is coming from, sort of... I am left handed for writing, eating and playing snooker, but give me a racket and I have to bat with my right hand, can't for the life of me hit the ball with my left. Having said that I am not very good at snooker NOR tennis! (table tennis ok though)

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