L/R dominant

Ruthy77

Hi, I am new to this board.. Quick intro---DH and I have a wonderful 4 year old Son.  We have been working on #2-but no luck yet.. He's an only child who has gone to daycare/preschool 3 days/week for  2years now

I have noticed when we do letter/numbers at home--he still switches hands to write.. Sometimes he uses his left and other times his right.. he does the same when eating w/ utensils...   I asked him if he switches hands at school? He said yes and Miss Tammy tells him to pick one hand.. So my questions are if this is normal-has anyone else had this?  What did you do? Will he figure it out by Kindergarten?  Anything I should be doing? 

Thanx, Ruthy

rsd12

My son is actually going through this right now in kindergarten. His teachernoticed that he uses both hands for desk time (writing, coloring, cutting). He isnot showing any learning delays, but does have a vision issue with his left eye. Sowe are not sure if that is the reason or if he gets tired. They are going tohave an OT watch him & make recommendations. Still in the beginning process...but definitely curious what others have to say.

Surfinbride

Maybe he is ambidextrous. I am not. However, I do favor left or right based on the activity/skill. For instance, I write with my left hand and cut with my right. I suppose that could be explained by adapting to right handed scissors. However, there are other activities that favor one side. My right leg has always been my dominant leg in dance and gymnastics where you lead with your favored leg. I did both, so am positive that I favor the right. Compared to others, it is easier for me to try things on both sides. I am most definitely left handed. My handwriting is neat and fast. If I try to write with my right hand, it is more legible than when a rightie writes left handed. I hope your son's abilities are an asset to him.

How does he compare to other four year old children? Is he advanced? Does he seem gifted? Does it seem like he tries out different sides on purpose?

 

Ruthy77

Thank you all for your posts.. I am going to pay attention to the 'crossing the midline' thing next time we write.  I honestly don't know if he just fatigues or does do it on purpose to get attention, if i pay attention to it and say anything about why did you change hands, he just tells me it's b/c his hand got tired and this one is better now...   I think most his age already have a preference to which hand they use.. He USUALLY kicks a ball w/ his R, swings a bat w/ both, uses a golf club righty, but uses a hockey stick more lefty (child is OBSESSED w/ hockey)...   Hopefully it all gets worked out... Thanx again...

neverblushed

Some kids are just born with weak lateral dominance.  I am like this and so is my DD.  

Like your son, my daughter didn't pick which hand would be her dominant hand until she was close to kindergarten.  She only picked at that point because the preschool teachers and I felt that she needed to practice writing exclusively with whatever hand would be her dominant hand to kind of "set" the dominance before she went to elementary school.

To help her choose, I observed her closely and tried to see if one hand was more coordinated than the other.  Her handwriting was pretty awful with both hands, so I had to look at her pencil grip and her comfort level while writing.  Her left hand was slightly more coordinated with both writing and throwing, so we just decided she's a lefty.  We let the teachers know, and they helped her remember to use her left hand for writing and cutting until she was using it automatically. 

Surfinbride

This was a fun way to look at right vs. left preference:

https://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/lh_tests.html

I don't know if your 4 year old will play along, but it would be interesting to explore.

I tested left preference for nearly all of them. When it said to count to three, I used my right hand. I'm not sure if that is because I taught exercise classes for years. We were required to cue with our right hand.

I'm also right eye dominant.

 

jburdet1

Sorry...I'm lurking, but I noticed this post and felt the need to add my experience I did this as a young child as well and my Kindergarten teacher made me choose my right hand to write. However, my pencil gripe when writing with my right hand is very strange. My previous teachers attempted to correct my gripe with my right hand and failed and then attempted to have me use my left hand, but by then it was too late. I now still go to do several things naturally with my left hand, but I write with my right hand with the same bizarre gripe that is always commented on.

Based only upon my experiences as a child and now as a teacher myself, I wouldn't think learning disability. I admit I was confused throughout early elementary, but I feel it was due to all the interventions. IMO the best thing to do would be to take a hands off approach and let him figure it out.