When did you know if your child is right or left handed?

DD is 7.5 months old and I think she if left handed. She reaches for all of her toys with her left hand first and when she does suck her thumb or fingers she will use her left hand. I read that you can tell between 9 and 12 months, but her doctor said more like 18 months. When could you tell? and how?

[rprav8r]

I'd love to know the answer to this one!

I'm a lefty (as is everyone in my family, except my dad), and DH is hoping that this baby will have a great future as a left-handed pitcher. We're hopeful - in every ultrasound since the baby's had hands (we've had 4 or 5), he has appeared to be practicing his pitching movement with his left hand. In fact, he waves that left hand around so much that DH was concerned that there might be something wrong with his right hand, and every time makes the doc go back and look for the right hand! Wishful thinking on our part, I'm sure, but it's fun to speculate just the same.


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, edd 01/15/06 - it's a HEALTHY BOY!

http://lilypie.com/days/060115/3/25/1/-5/.png[/img]

[hellokitty1]

I recall hearing that you could not tell til later (like 18 months) but we suspected pretty early on that Sydney was a lefty, before she turned one. And now she is 29 months and we were right. She's a lefty.

I think the minute your child picks up a crayon and attempts to scribble, that is a good sign. When we put a crayon on Sydney's right hand, she has no clue what to do with it or how to held it. but it very natural in her right hand.

The pitching thing is what we are focused on as well! LOL. DH confounds us, though. He scribbles with a crayon in either hand. He'll throw with either hand. He seems to prefer throwing with his left, but his pitching motion (yes, DH has already assessed his pitching motion) is better with his right. He seems to hold a spoon consistently with his right. I think in the end he will end up righty, if I had to guess. But it is by no means clear at 18 mos.

I am pretty much ambidextrous (fine motor skills I do lefty, most sports righty). My family is full of lefties though. DH's family is righties. We joke that he will end up being the rarest of breeds -- the switch pitcher! Apparently there was one once. DH can tell you all about it.

[dotgirl]

We noticed Britt using her left hand as early as about 7 months ... she's very left hand dominant.

Riley, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a preference, and he's 23 months, so I'm not sure when you know for 100% certain.

[rprav8r]

Oh, yeah, my DH talks about the switch pitcher thing, too!! I'm slightly ambidextrous (can eat with both hands, use scissors with right hand, golf and baseball righty, tennis and archery lefty) and I know DH would love an ambidextrous son! He thinks the switch pitching might make up for the fact that we are both small people (I'm 5'2" and 115lbs when not pg, he's 5'9" and 145) and not likely to have a Randy Johnson-esque giant. He also said he'd be delighted with a good shortstop, or a left-handed-hitting catcher. Nothing like grooming your kids early, huh? ;)


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, edd 01/15/06 - it's a HEALTHY BOY!

http://lilypie.com/days/060115/3/25/1/-5/.png[/img]

DS is only 5 months old, but he seems to favor his right hand pretty strongly already and has ever since he started reaching for toys.

ETA: We can tell since he uses that hand most often when he reaches for toys. Btw, I've often thought that we fail to give credit to our younger babies, developmentally speaking, since they can't talk to us and tell us what they're thinking. Doctors might put a minimum age limit on developmental milestones and things like R/L hand preference, but we observant Mommies often swear that it happens much sooner.

[Toba]

I brought this up at another mommy group I belong to and was jumped all over about it. I SWORE that I could tell my son was left-handed by about 6 or 7 months, and they all posted articles that said there was no way you could tell for up to something like TWO YEARS! Lo and behold, at 18 months, he is still CLEARLY a leftie. Maybe lefties just show their tendencies earlier?

BTW, neither my husband or I are left-handed. My FIL is a leftie, but that's it. It's definitely a challenge to teach things to a leftie! ;)

ETA: My son has been coloring (more like scribbling) for several months and ALWAYS colors with his left hand. He holds his drink in his left hand, points with his left hand, reaches for things with his left hand ... you get the picture. And yes, my husband is VERY excited to be able to have a possible leftie pitcher. LOL


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*

My own kids showed their hand preference by the time they were about one. They used their R hand preferentially to grab things (food, toys) and used tools with the R hand preferentially over the L (spoon, crayons). I think babies do sometimes show their hand preference as early as in utero, but handedness is generally considered to be established by age 5. So you can tell sometime between birth and age 5--how's that for a range?

My DS is two and I still can't tell!

I've read that although some kids show preference earlier, it's not uncommon to not know for sure until kids are older than this!