Is Your Child Left-Handed

does it matter if my child is left-handed?
left-handedness should never be made into an issue for your child. any old-fashioned ideas suggesting that right-handedness is perferable should be ignored - dexterity and co-ordination are the skills to be encouraged, not the use of one hand other the other.


when will i be able to tell if my toddler is right- or left-handed?
it should become slowly obvious by the time your child is two. until then, he will probably alternate the use of his hands. a preference is often not fixed until the age of four, and even then a few left-handers prefer to do some things with their right hand.


how shall i be able to tell?
observe which hand your child chooses when you give him a pencil. also notice which he prefers for putting things into a box. watch which foot he uses to kick a ball and which ear he holds a clock up to when you ask him if it's ticking. give him an empty paper-towel roll and ask him to look through it. by noting which eye he favours, you will get an idea of his preference, but he may not show the same laterality, as it's called, for every activity.


should i discourage his left-handedness?
no. you should let him choose whichever hand he likes for whatever he is doing. when he can use a knife, fork and spoon, you can teach him which hand it is usual to use for each piece of cutley. trying to change a natural left-hander into a right-hander only leads to trouble. some research even suggests it can lead to problems with reading and writing, so you are much better off letting your toddler use whichever hand he wants.


will my child be left-handed because i am?
not necessarily. left-handed parents are more likely than right-handed parents to have a child who's left-handed, but even so most left-handers are born to two right-handerd parents. twins are more likely to be left-handed than single children, although it isn't fully understood why.


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adopted from:
The Baby & Child Question & Answer Book - Dr. Carol Cooper