Lefty Child Advice

[purplepoet20]

DS1 (4yo) wants a guitar... a kids acoustic. He seems to be mostly lefty (eats, writes, kicks, throws etc) he tries to do things with his right hand a few times but only for a quick second. He plays the baby toy guitars and mine like a lefty.

Is it possible that he will stay a lefty?

Can a child turn into a righty after 4yo?

[NewYorkmom]

I have some personal experience on this subject being a special education teacher. Generally speaking a child will pick up a fork or spoon with their dominant hand. It sounds like he is left handed. Usually by 4 years old they have picked a dominant hand.

My five year old son is also left handed. He was delayed in fine motor skills in preschool so he received early intervention services. The occupational therapists that worked with him last school year told me that she has worked with children who were encouraged to use their non dominant hand and it screwed up the way they learned. It has to do with the way your brain is wired. My son would want to cut with his right hand but she recommend that he do all activities with his left hand.

It is a challenge to be left handed because it is a right handed world but my son is doing great in kindergarten.

[purplepoet20]

Was your son delayed because someone tried to make him use his right hand? Was he using his right hand because of watching right handed people?

Thank you... I wasn't sure when left/right set in because some websites are not very clear.

[begonia]

DD2 (2.5) is left handed. "They" do say it isn't "for sure" until they are writing, like ABC's ... but from the time she was a baby and reaching for dangling things, she has been left hand dominant. I remember noticing it then because it was so consistent. Now that she eats and draws, it is always left handed. I would expect if your son does most things naturally with his left that yes, he'll likely stay that way.

My DH is ambidextrous but uses his right for most precision activities, like eating and writing. He plays all sports (and guitar, for that matter) left handed. He also has been that way since early childhood.

[NewYorkmom]

I think he was delayed because he is a typical boy. Never wanted to color or do crafts. He would rather be running around outside. His preschool teacher was trying to get him to cut with his right hand because she thought he looked more comfortable but the occupational therapist put an end to that.

[Hobbermittens]

None of my kids are Lefties, but I babysit a kid who is (he's 7). He has been like that as long as I have known him (since age 2), and he does great with everything, and he actually has very tidy handwriting and is a great artist. Your son can learn to play the guitar left handed... Paul McCartney did!:)

[girlmom]

i got 3 lefties i have no idea how. everyone is right handed in this family

[Cinss]

So what age do you know for sure? Is it definatly when they are writing properly? I think my DD will be a lefty but she is only just about to turn 2.

[begonia]

Cinss my DD we had a guess even as a baby b/c she always swiped at things left handed; by the time she started holding a spoon it was left handed and it's just never been any different... every development for her has just reinforced it. If your DD is doing things predominantly left handed now, I would say odds are she'll stay that way. In terms of "for sure" though, yes, it isn't until they begin writing that you're supposed to consider it as being true. Mine is only 2.5 but I will be floored if she has some kind of reversal at this point.

[purplepoet20]

One test we tried on DS1 was giving him a pair of preschool scissor and crayons using them with both hands... his right is very shaking but his left hand is very stable and fast. When we hand him things like the guitar at the store I held it with both hands and didn't show him how to hold it. He held it like a lefty would and played. I asked him to switch it and he tried it for a minute and then he started to strum it like a lefty while holding it right handed.

[cherryswirl]

it seems probable to me, my eldest has always preferred his left too

[mumof6]

4 out of my 6 boys are left handed
i'm not sure about my 2.5 year old yet as he seems to use both hands equally
my 4 year old is most definately left handed and i'm sure will stay that way
at kindergarten the teachers had noticed they were left hand dominant and that is how they stayed
my 7 year old struggles a bit with letter formation and my 9 year old's gross motor skills developed a bit slower because of this.

they all used both hands equally as toddlers but didnt start to favour their dominant hand until they were closer to kinder age (4)

[Violet_]

My oldest son, who is 7 yrs old is left handed and I knew he was from when he was a young baby. He just did everything with his left hand from the beginning. My other two boys are both right handed. I just made a very special note to let his Prep and Grade 1 teachers know that he is left handed and double check he will not be forced to write with his right hand. I bought him some left handed scissors and he is doing well with everything. He is very good with his hands and loves to construct wooden models, airplanes, cars etc. I've found teachers are a lot more open to left handed children now days compared with years gone by where children where punished for getting/doing it 'wrong'.