I know this isn't a big deal, I was just wondering if anyone else has ever seen this. Its' a first for me. My 3yo ds loves to "write" and draw. When he does so on the left side of the paper he uses his left hand and he writes on the right side, he uses his right hand. Ever seen this before? I can't wait to see which one it becomes.
Pay attention to how he eats, brushes his teeth, tie his shoes, manipulates dough and toys and such. Its possible that he's ambidextrous, meaning he isn't a righty or lefty but both hands are dominant, or equally capable. I was left handed for a time but taught to use my right hand, to this day my handwriting is awful. Oddly, I can write as well (sometimes better) with my left hand, though it is slower...
If he eats with a spoon he uses his left hand and a fork with his right. I always wanted to be left handed. I loved to watch my left handed brother write and he has beautiful hand writing.
My nephew did that. He was up in like 2nd or 3rd grade, as I recall, and his mother had just noticed it when helping him with his homework. I advised her to get him to choose and stick with just one for writing. Doesn't matter which one. He said he did it because his hand got tired, but that wasn't it - he was actually unable to cross the midline to write or color. Left page, left hand, right page, right hand. When the ps evaluated him, they found strong LDs. People think oh how neat to be ambidextrous - but it's very frequently associated with LDs, especially dyslexia (not the "artificial" dyslexia induced by improper instruction in the public schools, but real neurological dyslexia). This is different than learning on purpose or being taught how to do a particular task with the other hand. This is also different than having mixed dominance - which would mean eye, ear, hand, and foot might be a mixture of lefts and rights. [Me, for example: right eye, left ear, left hand, right foot.] I suggest that you make him choose a hand and stick with it. I also suggest playing games of left and right - such as Simon Says, with the instructions being something like "use your left hand to touch your right ear", "use your right hand to touch your left knee", "use your left hand to touch your right foot", "cover your left ear with your right hand", "cover your right eye with your left hand", and so on with foot, knee, hip, elbow, ear, eye, ribs, ankles, whatever combinations. Check dominance. Put his pencil, crayon, spoon, other utensil directly in front of him when it's time to draw or eat, and see which hand he uses to pick it up with. Put a cup with the handle directly toward him, and see which hand he picks it up with more consistently. Observe without comment, and note whether he uses one hand more consistently. Have him cut a piece of paper with safety scissors, and see which hand he tries first or more consistently. Put a piece of paper on the floor (tell him to pretend it's a mud puddle) and see which foot he uses more consistently to step over it, or which foot he puts on the first step of a staircase. Hand him an empty paper towel roll, "play pirate" or something, and see which eye he puts his "telescope" to first. Pretend "telephones" and see which ear he puts it to first. Make notes when he's not looking, because you will forget when observing over several different days. If you still have concerns, discuss it with your pedi.
I eat and write with my left. I hold a tennis racquet, shoot a basketball, and similar things lefty. I hold a golf club, baseball bat, croquet mallet, rifle, beverage, and computer mouse with my right. Totally can't do my "righty" things with my left. I taught myself to write righty, and I can also write backwards like Leonardo Da Vinci with my left (readable in the mirror). I once got lost in an elevator - no "bump of direction" AT ALL! Not all LDs are academic!
Ok~ Lindina, I didn't have any concerns over it until I read your post I thought it was kind of cute. I have said before, "I'm not the brightest color in the box." Glad I asked now. So, what do I do I with what I find out. Just make him use the more dominant hand?
I don't want to alarm you, by any means. But yes, I'd either observe and encourage (gently) him to use the more consistent hand, or let him pick one to stick with. Play the "crossing left and right game", which should help him to cross the midline. I'm not exactly certain why (I'm definitely no neurologist), but I know this is an important neurological development thing that needs to be worked out early because there are implications for later academics (probably something that stuck from my student days in physiological psych). If he has a huge amount of difficulty crossing the midline after playing the left/right game for awhile, talk to the pedi.
I write with BOTH hands and do not have any LD's. What I can do with my left hand I can do with my right. I also write fluently and without thinking backwards. All my notebooks from school are written in that form. I have seen many children write the way your describing and they are perfectly fine. He will eventually pick a more dominate hand when he chooses. I wouldn't worry a wink about it. He's still very young and there is plenty of time for him to choose. And if it's both hands oh well! Oh and by the way I can also perfectly write upside down as well. My kids get a kick out of it.
I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I WOULD work on crossing the midline with him. Play pat-a-cake, sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider, do puzzles and have him pick up the pieces with the hand opposite the side of his body the pieces are on, place objects on one side of him and a container on the other and have him reach across his body to pick them up and put them in the container. Search for "crossing the midline activities" and you'll find lots of other ideas.
All of my kids were this way as toddlers and preschoolers. I started out worried, but then a school teacher told me that until they are 6 or 7 they don't usually pick their dominant hand for writing and such. It's when they're writing every day that that choose it - and usually it's still an experiment until they figure out which is more comfortable. My kids all ended up righty's but my oldest is left side dominant for everything but writing. Eats with her left hand, does her gymnastics with left side dominance, etc. So, that's very common! No worries - he's only three!!!!
My oldest ds used his right for eating and drawing, and his left for cutting, playing golf, or shooting a gun. He gradually started using only his right for everything except golf. He still uses left hand clubs and he's 21. I wouldn't call him ambidextrous, though. The golf thing just seems like just a little quirk of his.LOL.
He could be ambidextrous. I am we can write and do things with both hands. We are very creative people and often fight with our own ideas lol, watch out!
I don't think it is an obvious LD; but the not crossing midline is concerning. I agree that playing games that push him to cross is important. It is about building the connections and neuron pathways in the brain. I would look at it as a sign that he thinks differently and you need to equip him to work under all circumstances. I don't think it matters what hand he writes with or eats with in the end.
