Right or Left Handed - Logan,UT

Wow that teacher sounds kind of picky, if she is complaining about a 4 yr old not coloring in the lines. My son is in the second grade and doesnt always stay in the lines. His teacher brings it up, but doesnt complain. We both know that coloring is boring for him anyways. He rather draw or doing other fine motor things. He is only right handed, and has been since he was little. I wouldnt worry to much. Talk to the teacher and discuss things. If she doesnt listen, then talk to the director. Good Luck!

M.,
My 10 y/o son has always used both hands and still does.... He thinks it is totally funny that he can switch back and forth whenever he wants to... When he was in Kindergarten the teacher told me that I had to make him chose, but I refused to do so... Why limit their abilities?? He now not only writes and colors with both hands, but sports coaches love him... I think the only thing he cant do left handed (which is actually his dominant hand), is throw a ball, but he insists on continuing to practice.... so who am i to tell him no??
Let her explore and there will come a time when one hand is more dominant, but that is a choice she must make, noone else....
Good Luck
T.

OMG this was me! There is a simple test you can do to see which hand is dominent. It has to do with which eye is dominent and some brain thing. Hold one finger from each hand in front of your face in a row a few inches apart, and about a foot away from your face, so it looks like one finger. Then keep it still and close one eye, then try the other eye. With one eye closed the finger will move. the eye open when the finger does not move is the dominent side!! Maybe a game to play with your 4 year old! Hope this helps!

I wouldn't worry about it. I did the same thing when I was growing up and now I can use either hand for most activities. I do predominately use my left for writing but I can write with my right also. I also had a bit of an advantage with sports because I can bat, bowl, etc with either hand. Also, I don't have to use a backhand playing tennis, I can just switch hands. I remember loving to confuse people by one minute writing with my left and the next writing with my right - it was pretty funny. I will admit thought that my handwriting has NEVER excelled and did have to really concentrate on work that had to be turned in throughout my life, even in college. Since I type most anything now, it doesn't really bother me.
Take Care - Hope this helps.
tam

I think it's great that she can use both- she's ambidextrous! Not too many pre-schoolers do stay in the lines! I see several 1st graders that don't! She will probably choose a dominant hand once she starts writing letters. Give her time and let her choose, until then, she's special because not too many people can use both hands for different activities! I'm jealous!

My son is almost 5 1/2 and is mostly left handed. He uses the right for some things. He gets this from my mom, who is primarily left handed, but does a few things with her right hand (very well--amazing cursive writing my mom has, and she has done architectural drawing). I'm right handed, and I'm not worried about which hand my son uses for anything. You might want to point out to the teacher that your daughter hasn't settled on a hand yet, and to provide lefty scissors. I brought lefty scissors for my son to keep in his cubby--the "both handed" scissors really aren't...the lefty ones allow the kid to see the line they are cutting on while cutting with the left hand. I wouldn't worry. M./Des Moines

I am appalled that the teacher would be upsetting you this much! Your daughter is absolutely fine. My daughter is 15 now and is still ambidextrous. She uses her left hand for writing, most of the time, and uses her right hand for everything else.

Praise your daughter for this ability - because she is special.

At 4 1/2 I wouldn't worry yet. I had K students that still flipped between the 2. And as for the teacher sending home notes saying she can't stay in the lines when she colors - who cares! Again, I had K students that still had problems 'coloring in the lines'. Plus, has she ever been to an art gallery? I'm sure several teachers would have said the same thing about some of the artists who now have works hanging in there. :)

If you are really concerned, ask your Dr about it the next time you are in, but if it were me I wouldn't worry about it yet.

J.

J.

Honey my daughter did not figure it out til she got in school and still to this day she can write with both hands -- left just takes a little more concentration than her right. Nothing to worry about -- it will come when she is ready

This is only my opinion but I think it is great that she is using both hands. If she is making progress with both I would see no problem. My daughter is almost 5 and she uses both hands depending on what she is doing. When we play golf in the yard she is a lefty, when she cuts with scissors she uses her right. When she bats she is left but when she bowls she goes with the right and when she practices writing and coloring she uses both. All kids develop at different rates and if your daughter can develop fine motor control with both hands I think that is great. I wish I had better left hand coordination.

At 4 years old they are just starting to learn how to color in the lines and that different parts of the picture have different colors. Don't worry about that. Maybe if your daughter's teacher doesn't realize that she switches between hands, you could send a note telling the teacher this. I don't think there's anything you can do to make her choose whether she's right or left-handed. Just let her develop both!

My son hasn't. He’s ambidextrous. He uses both hands... My husband is also naturally this way as well. I think them very lucky because when one hand gets tired when he is drawing he switches to the other and is ready to go again. Us who have a dominate hand aren’t so lucky. I did find that it did take my son a little longer to learn to write and draw than other kids but that is a short term thing. If he is ambidextrous it makes writing, drawing… and pretty much anything that requires the hands a ton easier. He will learn to use both well and equally.

As a left hander myself, I can sort of understand pressure from teachers. I came very close to being dyslexic and learning to write neatly, especially in cursive was difficult for me (I have since been told by many that my writing is VERY neat!). My advice is, let your daughter do what is comfortable for HER. If that means using both hands, then so be it. There are people that are ambidextrous and they usually are very talented people. It might take a while for her to "master" what the teachers expect of her and writing, especially cursive might be difficult for several years. But, give her your love and support and above all, let her know that she is perfect just the way she is.

So, I taight preschool for many years before becoming a SAHM mom. I can not believe that her teacher cares enough to send home a note that she stay in the lines. That tells the teacher nothing about her fine motor skills.
Children do not always pick a hand at 4 years old. Some children can use both hands well and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives. I would not worry about.
Some ideas of ways to assess her fine motor skills... stringing beads, zipping, cutting, writing letters, puzzles, and picking up things with thongs or treezers.

I think my daughter was about 3 years old when we realized that she was definately left handed. Today, she is 5 1/2 years old and still switches when she does certain things. The only thing she does 100% of the time with her left hand is writing/coloring and holding her fork/spoon.

M....whatever you do please don't force her to use one hand or the other and please don't let anyone else force her...4 year olds don't always color in the lines, I think the woman caring for her has some wrong ideas...kids need to be creative and not have to "stay in the lines"...I would suggest to her that she let her color on a blank piece of paper rather than something already drawn...my youngest sister used both hands and finally settled on her left hand, I don't recall when that came about but it didn't hinder her ability to learn, if this continues to be a problem for you, not the woman caring for her!!!you might want to ck with a professional to see what is best but usually mothers know their own child/children better than anyone so trust your knowledge over anyone caring for her...there are people who use both hands and do quite well, they are ambidextrous.