Experimental Study of Grasping with the Left or the Right Hand by Children Six Months to Three Years Old

An experiment in grasping objects with the right or the left hand was designed to determine handedness in 300 children from 6 months to 3 years of age. The results indicated that the frequency of using either the right or the left hand was around 50% within 1 year of age. The percentage of right-handed children increased with age, reaching 69.4% at 1-1.5 years of age, 71.3% at 1.5-2 years, 76.9% at 2-2.5 years, and 81.5% at 2.5-3 years. The frequency of right-handedness among boys increased faster than that among girls. The experiment showed that there were cases of grasping objects with both hands, but the frequency decreased rapidly after 1.5 years of age. The proportion of left-handed children with one or both left-handed parent(s) was higher than that among children with two right-handed parents. The children displayed preferences in terms of the color of objects and the nature of toys.