Righty or Lefty???

When do you think youre able to tell if your dc is right handed or left??

My ds is right handed, but only when writing, for baseball, golf, catching the ball, he uses his left hand.. we are all right handed in my family, except for my sister who is left handed..
i started giving Mila puffs yesterday for the first time..i gave her about 4 of them (she loved them btw) and then this morning again..i without realizing it, handed them to her right hand..i know at this age (6 1/2 months) it wouldnt be expected for her to pincer grasp them on her own, so i just watched her..she had alittle bit of a hard time..but as soon as she went for them with her left hand, she was able to pick them up with her thumb and pointer..
all of them!!

do you think shes a lefty? is it harder for them to learn to write this way? should i "push" right handed behaviors??
tia

Re: Righty or Lefty???

I'm a lefty and have never had any issues. I think "pushing" right hand behaviors is very old school.

At 18 months DD uses both her hands. Sometimes she uses her left to eat....sometimes her right. Same with crayons.

It think it is still to early to determine if your DD is going to be lefty or right.

Re: Righty or Lefty???

Most DC are ambidextrous (although, with how much skill they actually have, it's more like non-dextrous... ). You really can't tell until they start writing/drawing, so it's closer to 2 years I think.

Re: Righty or Lefty???

please don't push her to be right handed if that's not how she's "wired"!!!!

i'm left handed and have no issues with things whatsoever. you make adjustments. i have MUCH nicer handwriting than many righties--writing is not an issue at all!

let her become what she's meant to become. she'll be fine whether she's a righty or lefty!

Re: Righty or Lefty???

I'm also a lefty and I absolutely do NOT think you should push her to be a righty!!! Your DC will suffer no difficulty being a lefty but forcing her to use her non-dominant hand can cause a lot of unnecessary confusion.

My DD is showing all signs of being a lefty. I love it.

Re: Righty or Lefty???

My mom and all of her cousins are leftys...they were pushed to be rightys and all it resulted in was terrible handwriing

My DS is showing signs of being lefthanded as well, as are his two cousins in his generation

Re: Righty or Lefty???

Hi,
I am a pediatric occupational therapist, and frequently work with children who have fine motor difficulties. It is actually perfectly acceptable up to the age of 5 for a child to not show hand dominance. If they get to 5 years old and still haven't chosen, then it is time for more concern. They may show more of a preference for one at like age 2 or 3, but you may also still see some switching. Right now is definitely too early to show. I would not try to make her choose one hand over another, it can cause greater confusion/difficulties later on. Let her use which ever hand she grabs with and if by age 3 or so she isn't showing specific preference you can try to encourage one or the other.