Need Ambidextrous Input

[berryMO]

My ds is 4 and still has not hand preference. It is an inherited trate.

He loves to write but he still only can pretty much scribble. He is very intelligent and I know that being ambidextrous can be a great plus for him.
How can I foster it, help him grow with this ability.
He is not a very patient child and gets frustrated very easily with any activity that requires fine motor skills.

Any one that has delt with this? Has any input as to a teaching mode that would help us to foster this ability instead of stiffling it?

Any input would be helpful.

edit for typos.

[anythingelse]

I think that 4 years is pretty early to start writing. Usually the child can trace a line from left to right, draw a circle, underline etc.. before actually starting to form letters.
You can do pouring and transferring objects to work with his fine motor skills, that lead to writing or just wait & let him develop the skills naturally. You have plenty of time IMO I would not stress at all over this or push him, it sounds like he is simply not ready, it has nothing at all to do with intelligence.

[DiaperDiva]

I know back in the day parents encourage writing with the right hand, even if the child was naturally left handed, I can't rememer the reasoning for this. I am ambidextrous, except for writing. I do everything else equally as well with both hands.

I suggest what the above poster mentioned and also give plenty of opporttunity to do things with both hands

[Clarity]

I stayed ambidextrous for a long time...my father was forced to try to re-train his lefthandedness in school so he was very insistent on not doing that. I settled out into being right handed, but interestingly I use either hand for a number of non-writing tasks (scissors, for example) and things requiring strength, I often use my right, stronger, to stabilize and my left to manipulate, which seems not to be how most people do it. I did not really start writing until until about age 6...some limited writing at age 5. (letters, numbers) I remember not really writing my name until kindergarten (6). I was in a structured pre-school, (and they were into things like coloring inside the lines) but writing was not a big thing for me until later. I was a pretty early reader though....My handwriting is atrocious. Maybe that's why? (the ambi stuff). I also had trouble with physical skills requiring hand-eye coord. I would encourage a lot of practice.

[amnesiac]

Our problems weren't with ambidexterity, but with lack of fine motor development & the frustration. Pouring is a good one--we used 2 plastic measuring cups with dried black beans to start with. I also like bead stringing, simple mazes (you may have to make some of your own--if you slip them in plastic report covers with binder holes they can go in a 3 ring binder & use a dry-erase marker so it wipes off & they can be re-used), sandpaper letters, fingerplays, even cooking (because I personally write with one hand, but eat & do other things with the other).

[DiaperDiva]

I often use my right, stronger, to stabilize and my left to manipulate, which seems not to be how most people do it

I did this when I used to play hockey. I would use my left leg more and if I thought I needed support I would use my right leg.

[vamp127]

DD (4) is ambidextrous, too. She never showed a preference initially, but as she started doing things such as self-feeding, coloring, writing, etc., she discovered that some things were easier to do with one hand than the other. We've let her follow her instinct. She writes right-handed, eats left-handed. The interesting thing with her is that she draws left-handed.

Being ambi myself, I don't see a problem with it and will encourage her brother the same way. I am very persisent with letting others know how she does things is right for her. I think this will be especially important when she begins school next month.

[berryMO]

The first info I found on Ambidextrous on the for web was here:
Ambidextrous People" are Brain-Damaged

I was appaled and distrout.

Then I found much better information under Ambidexterity
Very interesting and useful for anyone:
AMBIDEXTERITY EXERCISE
They are selling a course but still thought the info very interesting and reasuring.

[3boysmom]

My 5 year old ds is also ambidextrous. We think it is so cool! So far he shows no tendency toward slower motor skills than any of his buds or brothers and he is quite thrilled to be the only one in the family that can use both hands to do anything!

[KaraBoo]

we encourage our three and a half yr old to use both hands for things. she seems to naturally do this anyway...we hold out a pencil/pen/spoon/etc between each hand so she can choose which hand to use. i think sometimes people naturally hand things to the right hand. she can use both hands for eating, painting, using scissors, etc. and we encourage this.

[AmyJ]

I'm so glad you aren't forcing him to use his right hand! He's still a little young to show a hand preference, so he still may develop one. This shouldn't be discouraged or encouraged. My suggestion would be to do stuff like hand him a pencil, but not to any particular side of his body. Just put it in between his hands - see which he grabs with. You're probably already doing that, though. I just wanted to congratulate a job well done!

[berryMO]

Thankyou for your input. He seems to be doing really well at things that require physical coordination, like riding a bike and balance type things.

It is really interesting to watch him color. He will put one color pencil in one hand and another in the other hand and go to work, colors some things with one color then something with the other hand.

He does eat right handed but tends to throw a ball left handed.

[Beck]

I was encouraged by an occupational therapist to let ds use which ever hand he prefers up until about age 7, then gently encourage him to choose a hand for handwriting. The OT said that many people who use both hands equally never really develop mastery of handwriting or other fine motor tasks. Ds is only 3, so I haven't done anything yet, just thought I'd pass this thought along.

My brother, a baseball player, is rooting for ds to be a lefty.

Some fine motor activities: get out all your suitcases and zipper zippers, button buttons and lock latches, clip clothespins onto a length of fabric, playdough, tearing newspaper

[teachermom]

something to keep in mind is that lots of kids (boys especially) do not develop really fine motor skills until after seven years of age, no matter which hand they use.

[littlest birds]

Nursing mother: huh?

I think using both is fine. The only reason to encourage right-handedness now is for the convenience, since so many things are designed to fit that. Probably not a good reason unless you simply have a "toss-up.") I'm right-handed, but as a gymnast did all one-handed skills and always led with my left (stronger?) hand.

If he doesn't do much fine-motor work, he probably hasn't done as much exploration of handedness. My almost-5yo ds often starts to write or draw with his left hand before realizing that it is harder and switching to his left. In fact, sometimes he will keep going but with very sloppy results

We did drawing before writing... like making balloons. Since he was still scribbling and he was a little slow here, I showed him how to draw a circle and then a line for a string. At the time, it was a real challenge and plenty. But my children do write at this age, self-motivated, and they have loved writing their names and writing numbers. Ds likes to draw the same things over and over and over with the same form and only slight variations. He started drawing spirals and did this one page with two spirals going in opposite directions. We thought it was really cool.

I'm OT a bit, sorry.

I would just do a few things with your son for fine motor skills and give handedness time to work itself out.