During the first years of life, children develop both hands, although many children do have a hand preference. Around the age of three, most children become clear whether they are going to be left- or right-handed, but there are also children who continue to use both hands for a long time. Children sometimes change their preferred hand up to the age of six, after which you can say with certainty which hand is preferred. This hand develops better, has stronger muscles and it is the hand you write with.
The preferred hand
Most people have a preferred hand, only a few are both left and right handed. You perform most actions with your preferred hand. This hand develops better, has stronger muscles and better motor skills. That’s because you learn skills with this hand that you don’t practice with the other hand. For example, you only write with your preferred hand.
The development of the hands from birth
Babies are often right-handed in the first months after birth. This is said to be because most babies in the womb lie with their right side closer to the abdominal wall. This side then receives more stimuli and can develop better than the left side. During the first few years, a child develops both hands and the preference for one particular hand varies. From the age of six you can determine with certainty whether a child will be left or right handed.
The first months after birth
After birth, a baby’s hands are often closed. This changes as soon as the baby grows up and starts discovering the world. At about three months he can hold something. At first it is still difficult to grip something properly, but practice makes perfect, he is getting better and better.
Five months to a year
At around five months, a baby can grasp objects well and uses his hands fully. Both hands are used equally. The baby is eight or nine months old when he can grasp toys between both hands. He is now also waving and clapping his hands.
The hands of a toddler
After a year the baby has become a toddler. He understands more and develops in every area, even the hands continue to develop. The muscles become stronger, the motor skills improve. A toddler can hold his own cup and drink from it, pick up food and put it in his mouth and draw the first lines on paper with a pencil.
The toddler and preschool phase
In the toddler phase, a child learns to get dressed. Sometimes it is even possible to close the buttons. The scratches on paper make way for shapes and around the age of three these shapes start to look like something. Between the ages of four and six, the child goes to school and their motor skills continue to develop better. A toddler can therefore draw more details.
Will my child be left-handed or right-handed?
In an unborn baby, sex hormones influence brain development. These hormones ensure that one hemisphere of the brain develops more than the other half and this determines whether someone becomes left- or right-handed. Right-handed people tend to have a more developed left brain and left-handers a more developed right brain.
Hereditary factors
Hereditary factors also play a role in the development of left- or right-handedness. Left-handed parents are more likely to have children with a left-hand preference. Most people end up being right-handed and only a small percentage become left-handed.
The disadvantages of left-handedness
Because most people are right-handed, society is mainly focused on this. Many objects are designed for right-handed people. This includes scissors, tools and objects with an asymmetrical shape.
Writing with the preferred hand
You write with your preferred hand. This is not a problem for right-handed people, but left-handed people run their hand over the newly written text while writing, which can cause the still wet ink to produce a spotty result. It is also more tiring for left-handed people to write because they have to use their fingers. The pen is pushed across the paper while right-handed people write from their wrist and pull the pen across the paper.
Test your child’s hand preference
There are some tests you can use to test your child’s hand preference. Because the hands are still developing in the first years, the preference for one of the two hands can still change. The tests therefore provide no certainty.
- A newborn baby can sometimes already see which side it prefers, that is the side to which it turns its head most often.
- When the child gets older and can grab something with one hand, give him a toy and see which hand he grabs it with. The preferred hand is the hand with which he takes it most often.
- Take an empty roll (toilet paper) and let the child look through it with one eye. Does he use his left or right eye?
- When the child can stand, roll a ball to him. Watch which foot he uses to stop or kick the ball back.
