When I was a Parent Educator, I had many families that asked about when their child would show a preference in hand domination. I personally, am right handed. Can't do a darn thing with my left! My best friend from childhood is a lefty, but she could do lots of things with her right hand. Lefties are far out-numbered, many say that we live in a right-handed world...and we probably do :) So, when will you know which hand is your child's dominant hand? Keep reading to find out what I've learned!
According to Marianne Gibbs from Write Out of the Box, children generally develop hand dominance between the ages of 4 and a half to 6 years of age.
So, this means that some Pre-K students may have not developed hand dominance yet. Each student is different and it is important to embrace the differences.
As parents or teachers it is important that we do not force our hand dominance onto children. Is the world a little easier for right-handed people (considering we are the majority)? Yes, I suppose it is. But, it is not appropriate to force or train your child’s hand to fit in with the majority. We need to make sure to remember to hand children objects at their midline, or the belly button. Even when our children are infants and we are handing them toys, try not to show a preference my handing the object to their right or left hand.
Can you imagine how frustrating it would be writing with your non-dominant hand, all because someone thought you should be right handed, when your left is where it’s at?
How do I know when my child’s hand dominance has emerged? Well, observe them. Do they cross their midline with a particular hand to grab something? For example: if I were right handed and I reached to grab the salt and pepper that was to the left of me, using my right hand, I cross my midline to get the s&p. If you see this repeatedly, chances are that the hand that is crossing the midline is their dominant hand.
Which is your dominant hand?
