Ambidextrous?

[fabergeegg]

What exactly is this, anyway? My DM and I watched my daughter (almost two) feeding herself very competently today and DM says 'you do realise that's her left hand?'. I hadn't. She seems to have equal - and advanced - control over both. Is this normal?

My eldest used both hands equally as a toddler - when he first started drawing and writing he would swap hands regularly. He settled on writing left handed at about 4.5yo and now does almost everything right handed except for writing and one other thing that I don't remember.

I think small children do use both before they settle to one or the other. I do some things left handed and don't remember ever being told it was incorrect, so it's just the way I hold a raquet or use a knife.

I'm left handed as is my sister - there's usually someone else somewhere in the family as it is often genetic: we had a great grandparent who was left handed too. Most left handers are more ambidextrous than right handers so she could be left handed or have no preference (which I think is more unusual).If her brain has a preference for the left hand or for both so be it. You will slow her down by trying to change it and it really makes no difference. You can get special left handed things eg scissors but I've never needed them. If you have a stroke as an old person you recover motor skills much quicker if you are left handed or ambidextrous. I think it's an advantage being less fixed. People often say its a sign of creativity etc too. Try to find someone you know who is left handed - my right handed parents couldn't teach me how to tie my laces but my left handed sister could. I bet you know a load of people but you haven't noticed. Don't worry it's yet just another way she is amazing

(My 11mth old is clearly right handed...hhmm be interesting to see if she will struggle to learn some things from me!!)

They'd have burned you as a witch you know!

It wasn't that long ago a child using their left hand to write would have been made to sit on it, been whacked or had their hand tied behind their back (as my grandfather had been) at school.

Haven't there been a high % of left handed US presidents?

Thanks for the reassuring posts. That Job's comforter Mr Google informed me it would mean she would struggle with maths and memory, come lower on general IQ testing, and was at increased risk of schizophrenia.

My granddad was left handed. He had a photographic memory...that's interesting. And he had a stammer because he'd been forced to write with his right hand, so he said.

I'm a lefty, but knit right-handed, play tennis with both hands, and can, if required, go to a banana-leaf restaurant and eat with my right hand so as not to offend the locals! And if you buy scissors that don't have molded grips, you don't need left-handed scissors (ditto tin openers, etc etc).

Left-handed people are more likely to be injured in household / commonplace accidents (mostly because some stuff just is only useful if you can get your right hand to it) so if your DD does turn out to be left-handed / ambidextrous, you may want her to include dancing, yoga, horse-riding, or something that increases hand-eye coordination and body awareness!

Skipping is very good - that's why boxers and martial artists do it. It encourages the brain to use both sides.

Being ambidextrous is a sign of intelligence. Don't know what you googled but stop worrying.

I wish, Trapeze?!

DS-9 is probably ambi. He writes with left hand does almost everything else with right hand. Predisposition towards mental illness sounds right, DS is a right PITA. I have been toying with suggesting to him he try to switch to right handed writing, might make lots things easier. He is fairly uncoordinated, that part fits, too. I only realised he might be LH or ambi when he was 3.5yo. Other DC had strong consistent hand pref before 3yo.

I'm not sure about the maths, IQ or schizophrenia! One of the smartest people I know (lawyer, royal advisor, very smart person) is a leftie, as is my brother (accountant, very musical) and other half (writer and strategist). Maybe is causes problems if a natural leftie is forced to do everything rightie?