Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

Think my 4 year old might be left handed?

58 replies

Leish · 16/02/2011 18:44

My 4 year old son (reception year) can't decide what hand he is. Apparently he's one of the last ones in his class to be showing non-preference and he struggles with his writing and drawing. Neither teacher nor I are unduly worried as he is still young and boys fine motor skills are behind girls. He's also ahead with everything else and is well-behaved and friendly etc (so a plus there!).

I'm wondering that he might be left-handed, as he does show some left preferences when catching, kicking a ball, trying to play guitar. When he tries to write he starts with his left and turns the page on it's side and sometimes upside down. When he turns it back it's usually correct! Has anyone else got a little left-hander and what can I do to help him if he is? Surely he's got to learn to write differently? Haven't had chance to talk to his teacher about it yet to see if she has some tips, so thought I'd try on here too. Thanks!

OP posts:
freshmint · 16/02/2011 18:47

I wonder if he is ambidextrous?
my ds was obviously left handed at around 2. he is extremely left footed, couldn't kick a ball with his right if he tried. 4 does seem rather late.
isn't there a very good website for lefties? that might help you work him out... maybe a google will help?

rubyrubyruby · 16/02/2011 18:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Leish · 16/02/2011 18:48

Just found what looks like a fab website www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/kids_help.html

OP posts:
mrz · 16/02/2011 18:50

Learning to write isn't very different for left handers. They need to angle their paper/book slightly differently and make cross strokes right to left (so they pull the pencil across the page rather than push a hole in the paper)rather than left to right but otherwise letter formation is the same.

usualsuspect · 16/02/2011 18:50

My DD is left handed.I never did anything different with her she just found her own way.It has never been a problem

Memoo · 16/02/2011 18:51

I have a left handed DS who is 10 now. I honestly think the best thing to do is to just leave him to it and let him find his own way. That is what we were advised with ds and his hand writing is super now.

Probably worth getting some left handed scissors though and making sure the school have some available for him to ue too.

Memoo · 16/02/2011 18:51

I've bought stuff from that website and its fab!

crystalglasses · 16/02/2011 18:52

Never found being lefthanded a real prblem. Could be a little inconvenient eg using scissors, table settings
Righthanded people are more likely to make a big deal of it.We lefties just get on with it.

mrz · 16/02/2011 18:54

not a good idea to sit to the right of a right hander if you are a leftie (bump elbows ) Grin

Original poster
Leish · 16/02/2011 18:54

No not a problem at all - Shock I'm not stuck in the dark ages!! It's just that if he is a lefty then I'd like to help him to be able to write and draw more easily, because he does find it difficult and frustrating. I think he'd like to be able to write the words that he can read. And I suspect that teaching methods to help children write are for right-handers (as this is the dominant hand in society). And also just to get him other little bits to help him - you know, scissors n'all that. Can't think of anything else specific right now Grin. There might be other things that I don't even know are 'right-handed' as I'm probably taking it for granted that I can use them.

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 16/02/2011 18:58

Hes only little yet ..many right handed children find it difficult to write and draw at 4 .Just let him find his own way

Original poster
Leish · 16/02/2011 18:58

mrz - you're always funny!!

Ok, so I think the general message is to leave him to it but maybe get him scissors and a new knife for dinner. Now I feel like neurotic Mum.... Biscuit.

OP posts:
mrz · 16/02/2011 18:58

Leish I've taught lots of left handed children to write and it really isn't any different to teaching a right handed child as I say the difference is only in cross strokes.

mrz · 16/02/2011 18:59

as a teacher I make sure I don't sit left handers to the right of a right hander for writing

Memoo · 16/02/2011 19:11

You are not being neurotic. I was the same with my DS but he's 10 now so I've had chance to get use to it.

madwomanintheattic · 16/02/2011 19:16

ds1 didn't decide until about 6. i was convinced he was going to left handed. now he's right handed except for eating, where he's left. (he's 9 now)

dd2 (7) is left handed though, dd1 is right. tbh they all just get on with it. it doesn't make one jot of difference. oh, but like mrz says, i make lefty lou sit on the end of the table so there's no contraflow of knives and forks. (just realised that makes no sense as ds1 eats lefty too. why do i do that then? Blush)

CarGirl · 16/02/2011 19:22

My dd was ambidextorous until she was 4 and had just started school. Interesting she had poor hearing due to Auditory Processing issues and after we finished using the Johansen sound therapy to sort this out her LH dominance came into force - I think this is all linked as all babies are born ermmm I think right brain dominant (to focus on emotions, touch etc) and usually switch around a year old where the other brain areas become more developed I think she got "stuck" which caused her to be ambidexterous and this brain hearing issue.

The brain is amazing so much affects how we reac, what we excel at etc.

She still has poor pencil control at 5 and in year one even though her fine motor skills for hama beads and that type of thing are excellen although perhaps some of that is just the disadvantage of being left handed.

davidtennantsmistress · 16/02/2011 19:34

tbh mine's left handed, he's 5 next week, he's always been a leftie thou.

When I sit down with him I need to think back to front if that makes sense, and also everythig I teach him to me is back to front, but so far we're muddling through it.

he's got a left pen (stylo I think), pencil & scissors, so we muddle along, he likes writing bigger, & on a white board as well, but I figure he's writing so what the heck on the medium.

also helps that my dad and DP are lefties so they're able to give me/DS help. :)

PalmTrees · 16/02/2011 20:17

My ds in year 1 is left handed and has had no problems learning to write exactly the same as the rest of his class. I am also left handed and I can honestly say it has never made the slightest bit of difference to anything I have ever done!

PoppetUK · 16/02/2011 20:19

I'm sure not all will agree with this but DS is left handed and I've guided him to use the mouse right handed. I saw how difficult it was for a left handed colleague to just rock up to a desk and use the computer. The mouse would never stretch enough etc. He was just as good with his left as he was with his right. His writing is now stronger left but very occasionally he tries a few letters right handed.

PoppetUK · 16/02/2011 20:20

Palmtrees how do you use a computer mouse. Would you encourage left??

PoppetUK · 16/02/2011 20:24

p.s I'm actually feeling a bit bad. Perhaps I should have looked into this leftie thing a bit more. Looks like our other son who is almost 2 is going to be a leftie. He has the most powerful leftie throw and already switches the ball or object (dangerous!) to his preferred hand :)

PalmTrees · 16/02/2011 20:24

You are right, that is the 1 different thing I do, made much easier now by a wireless mouse! But my ds has always naturally used the mouse with his right hand and doesn't seem to have any problems. I have always found left handed products more difficult to use than normal ones so I guess once you are used to the way something works it becomes 2nd nature.

ramonaquimby · 16/02/2011 20:29

Am left-handed and have always used right-handed mouse

I do think that teaching methods remain the same for left or right handers (I say as a teacher)

Just let him get on with it, work out what he might need as he gets older. Have to say a lot of these gadgets are just gimmicks. Cute and a bit quirky but not really necessary

CarGirl · 16/02/2011 20:33

I'm right handed and use my mouse left handed as I'm prone to RSI in my right hand!