Young children are able to take objects with both hands and, even growing up, some do not change their habits. It is not easy to identify a left-handed person among them, but there are still some signs that will help parents to do this.
Why do parents want to know if their child is left-handed or not? Some are afraid that it is not necessary to retrain such a child in time to hold objects with only his right hand. Some, on the contrary, secretly wish that the baby was not like everyone else. It is not for nothing that they say that left-handers are more talented and versatile personalities. And some just want to help the child decide on the leading side and not harm him in the development process.
Observe the child's behavior
Whether the child will be left-handed is determined already during pregnancy, but this symptom may not appear for a long time. Small children do not know which hand to eat and hold toys, their brain features are such that babies can do everything with both hands. Therefore, it is possible to say definitely whether a baby is left-handed only by 3-4 years old, when his habits and tastes are more or less settled. However, even before this time, signs of such preferences can be noticed. Observe with which hand the child reaches for the toys, with which hand he takes the spoon, and especially the sweetness, something tasty for him. Here a reflex is already triggered and that palm is stretching forward, which will most likely become the leading one in the future. If you closely monitor the child, you can notice the factors that determine his leading side of the body by 6-12 months.
Doctors-therapists, after carrying out some tests and observations, can say this even earlier - by 3-4 months of the baby's life. The fact is that at birth, a baby has so-called rudimentary reflexes, which for the most part disappear by 3 months. However, they do not disappear from the right and left sides of the child at the same time: from the leading side of the body, rudimentary reflexes disappear in the first place, and are delayed on the other. When a therapist examines a baby systematically, he may notice how his body is responding to this check. If rudimentary reflexes are more pronounced on the right side, the child may well be left-handed, and if on the left, then right-handed.
Don't retrain your baby
If you notice that your child is holding a pencil, spoon and other objects with his left hand, you should not be upset or overjoyed at this fact. It is quite possible that he will still change his habit, because before the primary school age, the child's addictions are very plastic and may well change with changes in certain living conditions. However, even if you are not too happy about the fact that a small child can remain left-handed, you do not need to retrain him. This is not an acquired, but an innate property; in a retrained left-hander, the leading areas of the brain change and this can lead to complexes and difficulties in learning or self-determination of the child. Moreover, it is impossible to somehow highlight the fact that he is left-handed in front of the baby. This is an absolutely normal state of affairs and should be treated calmly. Then the child, following your example, will not consider it as something special and abnormal.
