Color
Thanks to the influence of her older cousins and the dollar spot at Target, coloring is Clara’s newest obsession.
She can be in the middle of a meal, the middle of a crying fit, or even in the middle of the diaper change and suddenly just say “Color?” Which loosely translates to: Get me to my coloring book and crayons – STAT! Or I’ll just keep saying ‘Color?!’ with intensifying urgency until I’m screeching like my life depends on it.
We love that she’s so into an independent activity. Now if only each coloring session would last longer than six minutes…
Oh yeah, and do you notice which hand she seems to be favoring? Looks like we may have a lovely leftie on our hands…
I’m thrilled because two of my favorite people ever are left handed (my brilliant father and my best friend Cat). Anyone have any experience with kiddos who favor a hand at 18 months? Does it usually stick? Any other leftie kiddos out there?
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so cute. they say left-handers are the most creative! :)
Yep, we knew my son was a leftie by about 18 mos. It’s a pretty sure bet that she’ll stick with it.
I THINK that it’s too early to say, I could be wrong though. It’s so fun just to sit back and watch them when they start to play independently. I secretly watch my girl all of the time just to get a glimpse of that lovely little imagination!
It did stick with our son, Thorin. He’s nine now and, so far, he’s super creative and clever (to go along with the lefty rumors).
Good luck! She’s so adorable!
My mum and I are both left handed, lefties rule!
My youngest daughter favored her left hand for a while as a toddler, but ended up a righty by preschool. I thought it might stick b/c I do everything with my left hand (cut w/ scissors, eat) except write. I say this is the reason I am always so confused about everything. The two sides of my brain are constantly fighting! Clara is such a cutie!
Being a leftie myself I noticed that as soon as I saw the first picture. My 5 year old daughter is also a southpaw and started favoring her left hand before she turned two. You’ve got a creative, independent thinker on your hands but I’m sure you already knew that! What a cutie pattootie.
AHH! I’m a lefty!! Lefties are the best! I might be biased though. My dad and my sister are lefties too. We out number the righties (my mom and little bro). I love that Clara is probably going to be a lefty!
Ah, a little bit of independent freedom!! That is so sweet. I could tell my first son was going to be a lefty when he was 3-4 months, and it stuck (he’s 3). My second likes to switch it up so we will have to wait and see with him.
According to my mom, I favored my left hand when I was around Clara’s age, but when I hit 2 years old, I switched to my right hand. I’m not sure why that happened. My mom was all set to have me be a leftie too! :)
My oldest son (almost 11) is a lefty and he was favoring that hand before his 1st birthday. So it stuck with him! And he still loves drawing. :)
No experience but our 15m old will only use his left hand to eat with his spoon so we are thinking we might have a lefty on our hands. We try and give him the spoon in his right hand and he immediately switches it to his left hand.
My son Max, 8, is a lefty. We knew from about 2 years old. Don’t forget to buy her lefty scissors!
Oh BTW, we would test the leftiness all the time. We’d hand him something in his right hand, say to write with or eat with, and he would always switch it to his left hand. Maybe try that to see how she reacts.
Yup, she switches!
xo,
s
We thought Isla June would be a lefty (so is my sis) early on in life, but now it seems like the other hand is preferred. It’s normal for them to switch back and forth, but Clara seems to have some consistency!
P.S. According to an Occupational Therapist I used to work with, coloring on the floor is super good for building wrist stabalization (which is a good thing, I guess!) so keep it up!
She’s too cute!
Aw thanks, never knew that!
xo,
s
Love this! It’s great when crayons can solve all the problems in their world. Our son, 2 years, just did the same thing in the middle of a fit 20 minutes ago, lol. He’s a lefty too:)
Ha! This is also Laelia’s favorite thing! And of course, now my walls are covered, because I can’t bear to hinder her creative spirit (I’m an artist) — I’ve just decided to paint the hallway a midnight blue, and probably a little chalkboard paint in there somewhere for her! Luckily, I discovered washable crayons… Check out my crayon post if you feel like it. We also have a hello kitty coloring book. :)
http://jesykaditri.com/crayons/
Ooh I love the idea of washable crayons! Thanks!
xo,
s
Aww love the coloring pictures!!
Like yours, one of my most favorite people is left-handed…my dad!
Funny tid bit, my maiden last name of Mancini actually means left-handed in Italian! she is destined for greatness! :)
Haha- no way! I love it.
xo,
s
Too cute! My little sister favored her left hand when she was little, but then grew out of it. Don’t mean to burst your bubble though :) Maybe Clara will be a leftie!
When I was about that age my mom would hand me crayons to my right hand and I would switch it to my left hand every time. And I’m still a lefty! I’ve always loved it, even if it means remembering to always sit at dinner where I won’t bump elbows
I love the first post. She is beyond cute laying on the floor with one foot in the air coloring…
first picture**
My son Ray (now 2.5) favored his left hand since the day he was born. Then all of a sudden he started to favor his right hand around 18 months or so. Now it is a toss up which hand he will use.
My middle son, Bennett (9), is left handed. He favored it from the very first time he picked up a crayon. I was so worried about his handwriting because for some reason I always associated poor penmanship with lefties but turns out he has beautiful handwriting. His teacher even commented that it’s “almost girly”….which I will never repeat in front of him :)
Haha- too funny! Go, Bennett!
xo,
s
One of our boys favored his left hand while eating at an early age…they’re all right handed now though (and my dad is left handed, if there is a genetic link). :) That is so funny, I had one that would color on walls/floors, like he just HAD to get that urge out somehow. I’m glad she’s sticking to coloring books for you.
My niece favored her left hand from when she was very little, and she is a lefty. My mom and brother are also lefties! My little sister write with our rights, but almost everything else with our lefts!
LEFTY! That’s the first thing I noticed! Soo cute. And think, now that she’s coloring, more free art!
My little sister is a lefty, and was from day 1. There were a few things my mom struggled to teach her…like tying shoes and using scissors. But she turned out ok :)
I’m a lefty, our youngest Reagan switched back and forth for a long time but then finally went left. Her pre-school teacher tried to make her write with her right but we put the kabosh on that real quick. They make tons of lefty products if you ever find she has a hard time doing something.
So far, every “leftie” I’ve ever met is a genius. My brother, his wife, and some great student artists (I’m an Art Teacher); they’re all gifted. I’m sure Clara is as well! However, I am anti-coloring book (sorry!). This is one of my favorite anti-coloring book websites (although Clara is still a little young for the activities):
http://www.susanstriker.com/wrong.html
Thanks for the link! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
I’m with you. So many lefties I know are insanely smart. I also had to chuckle at the rest. I’m not a mother, but I’ve seen the mothering debates and have heard the “advice” about what I should/shouldn’t do. I’ve heard of breast feeding/formula – cloth/disposable etc but never coloring book no coloring book. I’m certainly not against either view (whatever works for the family), I just had no idea that it even existed! (for the record – I think whatever works for the family best is awesome, to each their own. I figure like business, if I listened to everyone I’d always be failing somehow, and lose sight of my own ways).
Just wanted to add. I studied early childhood and worked with a 3 year old who refused to draw because his pictures didn’t ‘look good’. So sad. He would want me to hold his hand to draw ‘well’. :(
Also, something I learned and plan to use with my kids is to never ask, “What did you draw?” but rather say “Tell me about your picture”. This way the child doesn’t feel that their drawing is unrecognizable. It’s amazing what they’ll say. What looked like a giant scribble to me was actually “A train going through the mountains”.
Just wanted to share my ECE knowledge!
Such great tips!
xo,
s
Perhaps it’s good to do coloring books sometimes but blank paper for free drawing at others. I had an “incident” as a child where an overzealous pre-school educator almost had me kicked out of her class because I wouldn’t color in the lines. She told my mom this like it was a huge terrible issue, so Mom was all freaked out. She took me home, sat me down with a coloring book picture of a duck and said, “Color that and DON’T go out of the lines!” So I did. She asked, “Why won’t you color in the lines at school?” She claims my response was, “I just like it better when the colors flow freely on the paper.” I was four. -_-
After that, we just had an understanding that I colored in the lines at school (to not wig out the teacher and also just learn to follow “rules”), but I could draw and color however I wanted at home. I’m a graphic designer now. :)
Haha- amazing!
xo,
s
@Heather: Oh yes, it DOES exist! haha. Try talking about coloring books in a room full of art teachers…we hate them! lol.
I’m a lefty, and as a mom of six girls, I only have ONE lefty. They all favored one hand at a very early age, so I think it’ll probably stick. I love being a lefty!
My 4 year old is showing that she’s probably going to be ambidextrous. At 18 months, most kids will go back and forth between hands. Are either of you lefties?
Nope, just my dad and my BFF! It’s so funny, but if you hand her a spoon or a crayon to her right hand, she’ll switch hands and use it with her left one!
xo,
s
My son has favoured his right hand since he was a few months old and it has stuck so far (he’s 19 months old now).
Both of my kids are right handed and always have been. I am a righty too, but both of my parents and my brother are leftys, so I have a special place for leftys as well :)
She’ll be a leftie! My daughter always favored her right hand and she’ll be 2 1/2 and still only uses for right hand.
I used only use my left hand when I was her Clara’s age (according to my Mom). Then apparently when I started pre-school I decided it was cooler to use my right (I only write with my right hand now). So who knows? I do have to turn my paper on an angle when I write, so I’m writing perpendicular to my body, if that makes sense? Maybe I am secretly a lefty. I also use my left hand to make writing gestures when talking, not my right. Weird right?
My niece used only her left hand too, then switched around age 3. Maybe it runs in the family? haha
Haha- you’re totally a secret leftie!
xo,
s
I do the writing perpendicular to my body, too! Huh. Hadn’t even thought of that as a possible reason, I thought I just wrote weirdly.
Weird, I also write with my paper perpendicular to my body (surprised one of my English teachers in high school). However, I’m strongly right-handed.
How cute! Kids often use both hands until the age of two when a dominant hand usually emerges. Here’s to hoping the preference for the left hand sticks!
My son definitely favored his left hand at an early age and at 8 years old is still a leftie. He does everything left-handed, which totally came out of left-field (pun intended!) as no one in our family is left-handed. It’s just one of the things that makes him oh-so-special! He happens to be an excellent artist and that started young, too. Sounds like you have a creative one on your hands as well! :)
my son is 4 years…and he stills goes back and forth with hands…but i think he is a lefty…or maybe ambidextrous!
My cousin favored his left hand as soon as he could hold a pen. He is still a lefty– it makes him very unique in our family!
I’m a leftie, wouldn’t mind having Clara join the leftie club! haha. No helpful comments here – my mom thinks my son will be a leftie because he favors his left hand (but he’s only 5 months old, so I think she’s jumping the gun a bit on that prediction!)
Our son has favored his left hand for quite a while. He use to switch back and forth, but has stuck with his left hand for many activities (eating, coloring, picking things up) since 18 months or so, and he is now 2.
Love it! Coloring stays awesome no matter how old you get.
I’m a lefty and the best people I know are left-handed. My boyfriend even gave me an awesome book on famous lefthanders and their accomplishments and lefty traits. Welcome to the lefty club, Clara! You’ll love it.
Wahoo for lefties!!!!! I’m a lefty, my hubby is, as is my mom!! However my son who is the same age as Clara has been favoring his right hand. I wondered the same thing and was already dreading how I’m going to teach him to write, especially cursive!!
We had 3 of our 5 start with their left (my dad is a leftie). All now are right handed – one of them occasionally switches, but it didn’t really stick with any of them. :(
My favorite time of year is back to school time because I can get cheap Crayolas (there really is no substitute). My niece has switched back and forth between left and right hands for the last couple years and has landed on right…most of the time :)
Before you wrote anything about Clara using her left hand I thought…Hey, she’s a lefty! I am left handed. My first child switched hands quite frequently so I was crossing my fingers that he might be left handed but alas he isn’t. However, my second child uses her left hand consistently…there was no question. She is a lovely lefty. I bet it sticks for Clara. :)
Clara’s too cute! Our little one started favoring her left hand around the same age and is still a left at 3 1/2. I think lefties are mad cool (especially my grandpa and one of my BFFs).
Our little guy always seemed to favor his left hand. Then when he really started doing well with utensils, he would use a fork perfectly in his right hand and a spoon perfectly in his left! Now he tends to favor the right. They are so amazing, aren’t they?? Dexter loves to color too….quite the obsession! We are very thankful for the $1 Elmo coloring books at Target!
Woo hoo! I’m a lefty. My parents have told me before that I favored my left hand at a very young age and they ignored the ppl who told them to try to get me to favor my right hand. And I’m more awesome bc of it ;-)
I noticed that leftie right away. My niece was a leftie from day one and it never changed. She’s so wonderfully creative….maybe that’s a leftie thing!