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Original poster

Left or Right Handed

14 replies

Servalan · 29/04/2010 10:54

I'm wondering whether DD (aged 3 and a half) is left or right handed

When she was younger she automatically used her right hand for drawing etc.

However, recently, she has started using her left hand instead.

She's very interested in the process of writing and will pretend to write using her left hand. At the moment she doesn't form anything that looks like letters and also tends to scribble rather than draw (though I haven't been too bothered by this as I figure she's still experimenting with how to make marks on paper).

The thing is, I'm left handed and she's very keen on asking me to write down words and names for her to look at.

I'm not sure if she's using her left hand because she's seeing me use my left hand or because she's naturally left handed. I don't know whether to encourage her to use her right hand because she always used to naturally use that hand, or if this is going to confuse her.

She's starting school preparation classes at playgroup this afternoon and will be starting reception in September.

Any thoughts?

OP posts:
PatsyStone · 29/04/2010 11:06

Personally, I think you should just take her lead, I would not try to encourage one hand or the other. My ds was obviously left handed from a very young age, and I just let him get on with it, I'm sure you know as a left hander yourself it doesn't have too much impact on everyday life, at least I haven't found it to for ds. He got confused with his cutlery and in hindsight I can now see why he was such a messy eater, but it is all sorted now.

I would be surprised if your dd was taking much notice of which hand you use, and as I understand it, it is quite normal for children to swap hands and be undecided before finally settling on one hand.

TattyCatty · 29/04/2010 11:14

My DD (4.2) has favoured her left hand from a very early age, although we have very much left her to her own devices and not tried to encourage her to use either hand.

Since starting nursery in September, she has actually started to swap hands more when colouring etc, but her ability is definitely better using her left hand (uses pincer grip rather than palm grip and colours in more precisely), so I still think that this is the one that she will end up using. Her teacher has said that left handers often start using both hands more when they see the majority of their classmates using their right hand, but that she will eventually make a final choice at some point in the next year or so.

mrsflux · 29/04/2010 15:04

oh im going to watch with interest as ds seems to be a lefty.
he's only 1 but manages everything better with his left - much more control.
we are just starting to do cutlery - well a spoon, and i think he may have trouble because of this. do we wait and see as it will always be messy now or try and find some left handed spoons etc?
do any exist? where can i get some?

PatsyStone · 29/04/2010 16:16

In our case we have never got special cutlery for ds, it was more he wasn't sure which hand to use the knife in, hence the mess, he actually eats right handed now, despite being left handed for everything else (and left footed).

Only left handed things he has is golf clubs (he's 11 now) and scissors from early learning centre, he has never needed anything else specifically for left handers. Teaching him to tie shoelaces seemed to be problematic, I had to reverse everything being right handed myself, other than that I can't think of it being a problem.

There is a good site here www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/

SaliMali1 · 29/04/2010 18:52

It can take a long time to have a dominant hand, you also have a dominant eye and foot BTW, some children at 6 and 7 haven't sorted their dominant hand.

Can she cross her middle line?
This meens drawing a line with a chalk,pen etc from one side of her body to the other without swaping sides?

Original poster
Servalan · 29/04/2010 21:41

It's interesting to read what some of you are saying about how it takes a while for the dominant side to show.

I write and use chopsticks with my left hand, but do most other things right handed (I could never operate a pair of left handed scissors!) so know that these things can be a little vague

I'll try her out drawing a line tomorrow to see what happens

Otherwise I'll just lead her to it. I was just a bit worried that I may have confused her by the fact that I write with my left hand!

OP posts:
Original poster
Servalan · 29/04/2010 21:42

leave her to it even!

OP posts:
Jacksmybaby · 30/04/2010 09:29

This is interesting. I am LH'd and have noticed that without realising it, I "encourage" DS (3.3) to do things with his left hand e.g. by showing him how to do something and getting him to copy etc. He does seem to favour his lh but maybe that's just from me and he's not naturally LH'd?

I have never used any "special" LH'd equipment, don't think I'd know what to do with them if I did! So I wouldn't worry about that, mrsflux.

PatsyStone just interested, what do u mean by eating RH'd? If using just a fork/spoon I would use my LH and if using a knife and fork I would have fork in LH and knife in RH - I though this is how pretty much everyone uses a knife and fork whether LH'd or RH'd?

majafa · 30/04/2010 10:57

I'm Right handed but have knife in left hand to cut and fork in right hand to stab..lol spoon goes in right hand too. Funny thing is my Dad eats the same as me, but my sister who is Left handed eats right handed!!

Both my boys are Left handed, we have left handed sissors and pens for them.

Never watched them to see what hand they use for cutting with a knife, I lay the table Left handed tho, will watch tonight

MunkyNuts · 01/05/2010 17:20

My DH is a leftie and I was convinced DS (4) was going to be as he always sucks his left thumb, however since starting school he seems to be drawing and colouring in more with his right hand, although he still swaps from one to the other. Maybe he´s ambidexturous but think the right hand is becoming the more dominant. His teacher said that a lot of the children switch hands and they´re never encouraged to use one more than the other, its a question of wait and see I guess.

MunkyNuts · 01/05/2010 17:22

My DH is a leftie and I was convinced DS (3.5) was going to be as he always sucks his left thumb, however since starting school he seems to be drawing and colouring in more with his right hand, although he still swaps from one to the other. Maybe he´s ambidexturous but think the right hand is becoming the more dominant. His teacher said that a lot of the children switch hands and they´re never encouraged to use one more than the other, its a question of wait and see I guess.

MunkyNuts · 01/05/2010 17:23

Sorry technical hitch, seem to have posted twice by mistake.

Jacksmybaby · 01/05/2010 18:39

Munky my mum is convinced the reason I ended up left handed is that I permanently sucked my right thumb as a child - hence the left hand was the only "free" hand!

MunkyNuts · 01/05/2010 19:41

That could very well be the reason jacksmybaby! He is very partial to that left thumb.

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