At what age would a child become right or left handed?

[BondGirl]

My little guy is 18 months and uses both hands, either for drawing, using his fork or spoon and picking things up etc etc.  When will he establish himself as being a right handed or left handed (or possibly both!!) little boy?

Thank you in advance!

[kick3m0n]

I think they say most children develop their true handedness (if you know what I mean) at about 3 years old.  Not uncommon for them to use both, or switch from one to the other over longer periods, prior to 3.

[silly moo]

If he's really lucky and isn't pushed 1 way or t'other he may stay ambidextrous.
My 83 yr old dad is naturally left handed but forced to use right hand at school. Until his major CVA he did everything right handed except eat - and always had to have knife and fork opposite to the rest of us.
Sadly now he only has (poor) use of 1 hand.

[smudge]

I am left handed & can remeber as a very small child, my Mum & dad trying to teach me to be right handed like them, but it didn't quite work!

Although I eat with a folk in my left hand & a knife in my right, I can only use my left hand when eating with a spoon.

I am left handed in writing & everything else. I'm also left footed!

[smudge]

*remember

[smudge]

I've just posted a Q on B&S, asking how many right or left haned AB'ers there are on here. That might help you too BondGirl.

[jake-the-peg]

Some children seem to show it early - I think I started to notice my son preferring his left hand at about one year old but thought that it would change as there was no history in my family and very obsure history in my wife's.

He never did and he's left handed.

[Hellion]

He may never show a preference. Interestingly both my husband and my brother in law (who are not related) write with their left hands but doing everything else with their right including eating and in my husbands case playing guitar. Equally interestingly they are both a bit 'cak handed' when it comes to fine manipulative skills. And don't forget left right handedness also denoted if you are a left brain thinker or a right brain thinker

[Kingaroo]

I have heard it tends to sort itself out at about 3 or 4.
I have heard this is about the same time many children go through a stuttering phase -- it is all part of the brain wiring sorting itself out.