Lefty or Righty? - Muskogee,OK

My 5 month old son recently discovered what he's got that makes him a boy. Now we play "let go of that so mommy can fasten your diaper!" a million times a day. I noticed he always is grabbing his goods with his left hand (although he uses his right hand to grab toys, my hair, glasses, etc). How early does handedness show up? My hubby and I are both righties, but both his grandpas are lefties. Just wondering!

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C.W. answers from Lynchburg on September 17, 2011

Hi A.-

It is WAY too early for 'handedness'...

In MY experience...with men...they ALL appear to be ambidextrous in 'that' regard eventually...lol...

Best Luck!
michele/cat

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C.W. answers from Lynchburg on September 17, 2011

Hi A.-

It is WAY too early for 'handedness'...

In MY experience...with men...they ALL appear to be ambidextrous in 'that' regard eventually...lol...

Best Luck!
michele/cat

5 moms found this helpful

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K.M. answers from Kansas City on September 17, 2011

Catwalk is funny! Thanks for the laugh!

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S.W. answers from Minneapolis on September 17, 2011

I agree with Catwalk, most men I've known use their left hand for "that" even though they are right handed... Don't know why...

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J.D. answers from Cincinnati on September 17, 2011

my son is 11 and uses both hands. my husband is left handed and I am right handed

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E.S. answers from Jacksonville on September 17, 2011

My son is 2 1/2 and he still uses both hands to do things. For example sometimes he colors with his left hand sometimes he colors with his right hand.

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H.J. answers from Minneapolis on September 17, 2011

My four year old still goes back and forth...my six year old is for sure a righty now...it can take a while..

I use both

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T.C. answers from Dallas on September 17, 2011

Usually by age 2 you know for sure. Up until then, they can be pretty ambidextrous. A leftie would be fun!

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M.B. answers from Austin on September 17, 2011

Interesting.... it usually doesn't show up that early.

Here's one thing a teacher told me at a preschool screening LONG ago....

Once they are at an age where they can build a simple tower of blocks, line up several blocks (space them out a bit) across in front of the child, then ask them to build a tower.

Notice how they pick them up..... usually kids at the preschool age haven't set much of a "handedness" ... but if they continue picking up the blocks with one hand, crossing over in front of their body, then most likely they are using a dominant hand. At that age, they will usually pick blocks up with whichever hand is closest to the blocks. (Did that make sense?

Also, if they suck their thumb, they will usually suck the NON-DOMINANT hand... leaving their dominant hand free to pick things up or hold things. For example, DD#2 is left-handed... and she sucked her right thumb all the time.

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J.K. answers from Phoenix on September 17, 2011

My oldest is a lefty and he started using his left hand as soon as he started reaching for things probably around 5 months. Everyone said that it's too early to tell but he's the only one of mine that did that with his left hand. My others reached for things with their right hands and they're all right handed.

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