Right or Left Handed

[Madham]

Ok i am just wondering at what age do you know if your child will be left or right handed?

I have been watching Hamish play lately and he favours his left hand so do you think at 8 months old he will be left handed?

Today i placed all his food on high chair tray and he picked up every piece and fed himself with his left hand, i also past him some toys and every time accepted them with his left. I am just curious to know if this may mean he will be left handed.

My nan was a molly duka (left handed) and dp's father also. Sorry it sounds a bit like a disease the way i have written it..lol

[tan32]

hi funnily enough my Hamish favours his left hand.

He is 5 now and will still favour his left hand, he does use his right as well, but has always favoured his left hand. I asked at kindy and i still sit and watch he will pick up with one hand and swap to the other and vice versa, i was told that it can take up till they are 4 or 5 yrs old before you know for sure. But as a bub he def favoured his left hand.
Emma is a right hander and Lachlan seems to be as well.

[Pandora]

most kids will use both til at least 2-3 years old. I reckon 8 months is too early to tell.
DS draws and paints with his left, but plays footy and cricket likea right hander would.

[ticklish]

About 3 years of age is the earliest you can tell. It is something to do with brain development that is not complete until at least this age. As Tan32 says - it make take longer to tell. I agree with RayRay - most kids use both until about 3 years.

Someone was telling me this week about a study that was done where some left-handed people were tested and actually found to be right-handed through brain tests and it turned out that they were conditioned to be left-handed by their parents at an early age because they showed a preference for their left hand early.

HTH
TICKLISH

[Trillian]

I've usually noticed it around the 3yo mark when they start to actively draw pictures instead of just scribble kwim? Before this they may favour one of the other, but it's not a definate sign. I'm hanging out to see what Alister is going to be - I'm a lefty and so far the older three are all right handed (as is their Dad). Only 9% of the population is left handed, so it's a reasonably rare thing.

[PinkPalace]

i think DD will be left handed.
She uses it to eat and press buttons (although she will interchange) but always seems to favour the left hand over the right

[Nai]

DD started to favour her right hand at about 2.5yrs when she really started drawing and colouring in. Now she is almost 3 she will use her right hand exclusively when drawing so I guess she will be right handed.

[Madham]

Thanks girls i was just amazed at how much he uses his left hand, cant remember what dd was like at this age. I dont mind either way.

Thanks again :-)

[Muppity]

I'm a lefty and so far the older three are all right handed (as is their Dad). Only 9% of the population is left handed, so it's a reasonably rare thing.

So is Obama... I suspect it is about to become "cool" (not that it ever wasn't of course!)

[Ezz]

I've had kindy kids (5yo) in my class who still didn't show clear preference.

I remember watching a segment on "what's good for you" that suggested that the side that babies favour their dominant side by turning their head that way more frequently (eg. DS always turned his head towards the right when he was in the bassinette as a NB). I don't know whether that is true or not.