Leftie or Rightie

Posted by: Sharmila Rajah, 30-Oct-2009

A possible leftie?

Ayanna seems to favor her left hand over her right for things like eating, drawing and playing. This dominant hand is becoming increasingly more consistent. Perhaps before long we will find out for sure.

Is it too soon to say? Whenever we try out the following exercise - holding out a toy: she reaches for it with her left hand. She also picks up her spoon with her left hand. The dominant hand is usually stronger and has more dexterity.

We've met many people who seem surprised to find Ayanna using her left hand. Most people tend to view this negatively and constantly urge us to change and help her shift her preference from left to right. We've remain steadfast about her choice. Experts say “Don't try to change your child's inborn preference. Forcing a child to use the non dominant hand can create a lot of frustration and expend energy that could be going toward improving skills and learning”. Besides, the hard-wiring of your child's nervous system is at least part of the reason. Forcing them to use their right hand when they're truly a lefty is unlikely to work in the long run and will only confuse them along the way.

Some say we won't be able to determine true right- or left-handedness until they're 2 or 3 years old, when they'll begin to favor the same hand consistently. Some children may be ambidextrous (using both hands equally) until they're 5 or 6, when they finally make a choice. They say hand dominance is greatly influenced by genetics. Only about one in 10 people are left-handed.