MotionMan
Lifer
- Jan 11, 2006
- 17,124
- 12
- 81
I have two little kids. They started to show a preference when they were about 2.5 years old. Before that, it was basically which hand was closest to the item they wanted.
As for myself, I use both hands, but I am not ambidextrous (i.e. I generally cannot do any one thing with both hands).
I eat, write, and baseball bat left-handed. My fork is always in my left hand and my knife always in my right.
I throw, kick, mouse, use scissors and dribble and shoot a basketball right-handed (I use to mouse left-handed, until I had to share a computer with three righties in college. I also have memories in pre-school of needing left-handed scissors, but that was gone by the time I was in kindergarten. Though I dribble right-handed, my left-handed is dribble is very good.)
I now bowl right-handed but I bowled left-handed pre-teenage years.
I shoot a pistol left-handed, but I shoot a rifle right-handed(?!). However, I am left-eye dominant.
I play tennis mostly right-handed, but I will often use a forehand on both sides and no backhand. I serve right-handed. I play racquetball right-handed (wrist strap prevents switching). I can only play badminton left-handed (I do not have a lot of strength in my shot that way, but I do not enough touch in my right hand to play well).
BTW, despite being so screwed up, I played three varsity sports in high school (I was a left-handed batting catcher and a 3-forward with a nasty cross-over dribble).
MotionMan
As for myself, I use both hands, but I am not ambidextrous (i.e. I generally cannot do any one thing with both hands).
I eat, write, and baseball bat left-handed. My fork is always in my left hand and my knife always in my right.
I throw, kick, mouse, use scissors and dribble and shoot a basketball right-handed (I use to mouse left-handed, until I had to share a computer with three righties in college. I also have memories in pre-school of needing left-handed scissors, but that was gone by the time I was in kindergarten. Though I dribble right-handed, my left-handed is dribble is very good.)
I now bowl right-handed but I bowled left-handed pre-teenage years.
I shoot a pistol left-handed, but I shoot a rifle right-handed(?!). However, I am left-eye dominant.
I play tennis mostly right-handed, but I will often use a forehand on both sides and no backhand. I serve right-handed. I play racquetball right-handed (wrist strap prevents switching). I can only play badminton left-handed (I do not have a lot of strength in my shot that way, but I do not enough touch in my right hand to play well).
BTW, despite being so screwed up, I played three varsity sports in high school (I was a left-handed batting catcher and a 3-forward with a nasty cross-over dribble).
MotionMan
We keep wondering about our daughter, who is 3.5, because she tends to favor her left hand, but does several things with her right hand as well. From what we've read, it's nearly impossible to tell until after about age 2 and then sometimes it takes longer to really manifest. There's no way to know for a newborn.
People who are either right handed or lefted are very nimble with that hand, not so much with the other hand. People who claim to be ambidextrous, are middle of the road nimbleness in both hands - they can't do one handed things as well as a right or left handed person can, but two handed there's no difference. Ambidextrousness is a disadvantage in life, not something to be proud of. Realistically, everyone is either right handed or left handed, you still favor one hand more than the other, your just not as nimble with that hand as you could be.
rise
Diamond Member
- Dec 13, 2004
- 9,116
- 46
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many say a child is "challenged" if they develop a handedness opposite their parents. because they are slightly retarded, they see the parent as a mirror image when copying them rather than imagining them in the parents body, if i explained that right. at any rate, you can call them retarded or just "otherly abled" but there are many of them amongst us.
Agreed. Are you saying that if I train myself to write with my right hand, that my left handed writing skills will decrease?
BTW, my right handed handwriting is not nearly as good as my left, but I write better with my right than my younger brother does(he's 1 year younger than me) and he is right handed.
edit: but he just has plain crappy handwriting.
- Oct 28, 1999
- 62,484
- 8,345
- 126
I'm kind of a freak too. When I was young I was definitely going the route of being left handed. I would use scissors lefthanded, I would write on the chalkboard lefthanded. I batted at tball left handed. When I was in first grade I broke my left collar bone and was in a brace for 6 weeks. I started favoring my right hand for writing on the board (couldn't reach up with my left). Almost immediately after breaking my left collar bone I ended up breaking my left wrist and was in a cast for another 6 weeks further pushing the amount of time I used my right hand.
By the time I had started and left 1st grade I had made a switch over to my right hand for most stuff. To this day I still bat and golf left handed. I write and throw right handed. Most activities that require two hands (swinging, pulling, ect) I favor my left.
I'm a very good free throw shooter and shoot over 80% with my right hand. This thread made me go outside and fumble around with my left hand. The first 20 minutes of messing around were pretty ugly. But within half an hour I was shooting almost 50% from the line with my left. If I practiced at it enough I could probably be shooting over 75% within a few weeks.
Same thing with bowling. Just horsing around after a few beers I can switch over to my left and bowl in the 80's and 90's. I normally hit around 140 or so with my right. So with no practice at all I'm not bowling *that* far off from my "good" hand. I do better with my untrained left than many people do with their good hand(talking casual bowlers, a few times a year at most).
It's not a matter of ability, it's a matter of training for me. I can't just step out and run 5 miles without working up to it. Same thing with using my off hand, if I never practice with it I'm pretty sloppy. If I work with it I'm not half bad.
I think I was meant to be left handed. BUT I was raised in a Catholic school system and back in the day that was evil! I have sense then done almost everything right handed but can do things equally well with both hands. To include soldering, sports etcetera.
My definition for ambidextrous (for men) is being able to do the one-handed bra unclasp with ease using either hand. Sadly, I am not ambidextrous...
But which hand is which. I always block with my left hand (I'm a righty), so blocking with a 'certain' hand doesn't really indicate anything.
I also make sure to do dangerous or potentialy painful/damaging things with my left hand, just in case, so the right one doesn't get harmed.
Fern
Elite Member
- Sep 30, 2003
- 26,907
- 174
- 106
No, many people consider us ambidextrous because when demmonstrate dexterity in both hands.
As far as doing tasks equally with both hands, yes it's possible for me as well as many others I suspect.
However, part of the process is practice, even with a dominant hand. You ever watch a little right-handed kid throw a ball for the first time with his right? He throws like a girl. Part of it is learning. I can still remember being elementary school, and after Summer break I basically had to re-learn writing. It seemed so foreign at first cuz I hadn't done it for so long.
I did use to write often with my right hand (but dropped it long ago), and I still write better on a blackboard with it.
I think it's more about your brain is hard-wired, whether your left or right hemishere dominant, or neither.
Fern
Fern
Elite Member
- Sep 30, 2003
- 26,907
- 174
- 106
Hehe, I do it just the opposite. I mostly shoot pistols with my right hand, but rifles with the left. I'm also left-eye dominant, learned that from my golf instructor. (Jack Nicklaus was left eye dom too. Watch him swing sometime, he'll cock his head so his left eye is over the ball).
Shooting lefty with a right hand rifle can be a pain, gotta watch what you use based on where the cartridge gets ejected.
Try your right hand with pistols, it'll prolly work just fine. Back when I was shooting a lot I went ahead a got a double-rig holster for my two cowboy pistols (Colt clones). I think you'l find without much trouble both hands work fine. Use left eye for left hand/pistol, and vice versa.
Fern
Dominant eye usually matches dominant hand.
Outstretch your arms and form a small triangle by overlapping your fingers and thumbs, and leave the space in the middle open. This should make a small triangle. Now find an object in the distance (a clock for example) and center that in the triangle. Keeping both eyes open, slowly bring the triangle back towards your face, keeping the clock in the center and focused. Which ever eye the triangle meets up with is your dominant eye.
Trick is getting the toddler to do that. Damn kids.
Outstretch your arms and form a small triangle by overlapping your fingers and thumbs, and leave the space in the middle open. This should make a small triangle. Now find an object in the distance (a clock for example) and center that in the triangle. Keeping both eyes open, slowly bring the triangle back towards your face, keeping the clock in the center and focused. Which ever eye the triangle meets up with is your dominant eye.
Trick is getting the toddler to do that. Damn kids.
give them a dollar and see which direction they look at it. the base of the picture will be on the opposite side. ie if left handed they base of the picture will be resting in the right hand. If right handed the base of the picture will be in the left hand.
If you adults here don't believe me try it yourself. Which origination of the dollar feels more comfortable?
If you adults here don't believe me try it yourself. Which origination of the dollar feels more comfortable?
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