If one or more of your kids are left handed. . .

[eclipse]

When and how did the dominance become obvious?

With my older two, they were unmistakeably righties from the time they started being able to bat at toys hanging over them and grab things. DS2 confuses me, though. He's almost 4 and he doesn't really have a dominant hand. When he was about 18 months old, I noticed that he was doing a lot lefty - switching sppons to his left hand if I put it in his right hand, offering left foot first when putting on shoes, kicking with his left foot, reaching out for something with his left hand even if it was closer to his right, etc. I though for sure he'd be a lefty (dh is a lefty, so there's a genetic link), but it's never really resolved to left dominance. I'd say he's moved away from the left dominance toward 50/50 and sometimes seems to use his right side more. He's not very into coloring or drawing, though, so it's difficult to tell. When he does things like that, it's usually because DD has coerced him to sit and color with her, and I think he watches to see what she does and copies her - but he also sort of scribbles disinterestedly, switches the crayon from hand to hand, or even holds a crayon in each hand and switches off. I'm just wondering if he might be a lefty trying to find his way in a righty world or what?

[Pirate Nicole]

Maybe ambidexterious? I know that my uncle does a number of things with only his left, and a number of things with only his right. Pretty random about which hand for which, if I remember right.
My oldest is a definite lefty. Showed a preference as soon as she was grabbing at things. DS is a righty. Also showed that early. DD2 is still a mystery. Like your youngest, she seems to switch back and forth a lot. she's only one though.

[inkslinger]

dd1 is a rightie and has shown right-hand dominance from the time she started to hold and manipulate things. dd2 shows an obvious preference for her left hand and has since the beginning as well. I've heard that sometimes it isn't obvious until they begin writing.

[Storm Bride]

DS1 is a leftie. I suspected it when he was about 3-4 months old (hard to define why, though). I was sure by about 15-18 months. He was very into drawing at an early age, and always used his left hand...always.

[MusicianDad]

It can take up to 7 years for a child to "figure" out their hand dominance. I know someone who was a leftie up until she was 7 then just switched to right.

[lightheart]

I think our younger son will be left handed., He's 5. It's strange in a way since he has finger deformaties on the left hand. His body is asymetric in muscle tone also with his left side being weaker. He picks up things, and draws with his left for the most part. He does use his right independently some but most times he will use the right to assist the left, Now whether he continues the left prefrence I don't know.

[flapjack]

DS2 is a leftie, DD (3) is confused. With DS2 it wasn't obvious until he was 5 and writing. All of my kids swapped hands a lot before learning to write, and in a lot of ways that seems to make it easier to function in a largely RHed world: DS2 can use scissors with his right hand, kick with both feet and peel potatoes with his right

[Polliwog]

I'm a leftie, but do a lot with my right hand. As a PP said, some of it is pretty random.

[My3guys]

One of our twins is a lefty. As soon as he learned to move his hands on his own (reaching for toys, etc.) his left hand was dominant. Very clear. Very early.

Being a lefty fits his personality (slightly quirky, creative, etc.). However, at times it can be a slight pain. He is very, very interested in all sports and trying to find a left handed toddler size tball glove was a total hassle. Same with left handed toddler size golf clubs. Stuff like that.

[seaheroine]

Since DD was about twelve months old she has consistently used her left hand to eat with utensils and color with crayons. I don't know if it is permanent but if I had to guess, I'd guess yes -- she definitely favors it with every activity!

She's also "funny-footed"...she climbs into her little car backwards, putting her left leg in before her right. I thought maybe she was just figuring out different ways to do it but her Dad laughed and said no. He's a lefty and has so many horror stories and memories of growing up left-handed...apparently the funny-footed thing was normal for him, too.

DH's Dad is left-handed as well. Is it genetic?

[mrskingred]

DS 3 is confused! He uses both left and right hands, although my left-handed DH thinks he will end up being right-handed. DS is definitely left-footed. I'm left-footed also, but predominately right-handed. DH is a lefty through and through. We'll see what happens over the next 4 years!

[_betsy_]

DD1 (almost 3) has been very obviously left-handed since birth, practically. Certainly by 6 months, we noticed her left-hand dominance/preference. There'snothing wrong with her right hand, and she uses it the way I use my left. It's good for holding cups. LOL!

DD2 (6.5 months) shows no clear preference that I've noticed.

[battymama]

I think dd might be a leftie, she shows a lot of dominance in that hand. Its the one she uses to draw with and manipulate things with 90% of the time. She is 14 months

[Apple Girl]

DS1 has been showing signs of left-handedness from the time he began to reach for objects, eat finger foods, and throw balls. He can throw with either hand, but rocks thrown with his left hand go much further and truer than rocks with his right. (A favorite pastime of his is tossing rocks into the stream behind our house.) He even prefers to kicks a soccer ball with his left foot.

DS2 (currently 1) has already been showing signs of right-handedness.

I think that it starts very early, but of course there is some flexibility in what ultimately happens. Many lefties become right-handed because of environment - it's such a right-handed society, they often use their non-dominant hand as an adaptive measure.

This is an interesting article about handedness:
Clickity click

[kcstar]

I am left handed, as is one of my brothers. It wasn't clear until school-age, about 5 or 6 years old. Also, living in a world that is between 75 and 85 percent right-handed, most lefties do learn to do certain things right-handed. For me, it was scissors... which is part of why my handwriting is atrocious. (Using scissors helps strengthen the muscles that will later be used in writing.)

I'm for letting the child figure out what works most naturally for them.

[Alyantavid]

My oldest was right from the moment he grabbed at something. My 3 year old, I'm not sure about. He would mostly use his left hand for everything until recently and now he uses both equally. So we're still waiting to see on him.

Dh is right handed, but does alot of things left-handed. I do a few things left-handed, but I've finally realized that's because they're things my left-handed dad taught me to do.

[ashleyhaugh]

im not sure with my ds... hes still figuring it out i think. he'll favor his left hand for a while, then switch to his right for a while


my mom is left handed and shes rooting for the lefties

[Sierra]

I'm glad to hear of kids taking their time to show dominance. I thought it could take a while, but ds' OT has been saying things about how he should be showing a dominance now.

ds is 4 and dd is 3.5, and neither one so far has shown a clear dominance of one hand or the other.

[Kirsten]

Originally Posted by kcstar

I'm for letting the child figure out what works most naturally for them.

Me too. I tried to put the fork or crayon on the table or high chair instead of in her hand - so she could pick what felt comfortable for her.

I have three girls, and the oldest is a leftie. We suspected from early on - 12 months? She didn't clearly show us she was a leftie for sure until she was four or five. For YEARS she would eat with her right but draw with her left.

Yes, I think there is a genetic component. But in our family it skipped quite a few of us. Me, dp, all four grandparents, and all great grandparents but ONE were righties.