eye dominance in children

I read a article from a well known shooting journalist who said children didnt devalop a domenant eye untill a certain age,and it was best to let them shoot with one eye closed.This to me sounds like a habit thats going to be hard to kick when they get older.

So my lad is eleven and wanting to get going on some comps ive done the usual tests and im sure he is right eye dominant,whats best one eye shut or both open.

paul b said:

I read a article from a well known shooting journalist who said children didnt devalop a domenant eye untill a certain age,and it was best to let them shoot with one eye closed.This to me sounds like a habit thats going to be hard to kick when they get older.

So my lad is eleven and wanting to get going on some comps ive done the usual tests and im sure he is right eye dominant,whats best one eye shut or both open.

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Providing he's also right handed, on the balance of probability alone the chances are he's going to be right eye dom as an adult even if the article/research suggesting changeable dominance for the young is a thing. I tend to agree with your reasoning that teaching them best practice from the start is probably better than trying to switch them onto both eyes at a later date, why guard against something that hasn't yet happened. There is just sooo much to be gained from two eyed shooting that I'd personally take the chance.

Speaking from personal experience I was strong left eye dom from a very young age which has stayed unchanged ( I shoot right shoulder both eyes open against conventional advice ). The reason I know this now is because thinking back to the first time dad and I walked into a sports shop to buy my first air gun as a 9-10 year old I can still recall my dad laughing as I tried to mount the gun with my left eye lining up the sight  , it took a short while to teach my brain to allow the weaker right eye do the aiming but it was years later that I twigged as to what had caused the contortion in the first place. 

There is little harm in getting youngsters to shut one eye for very simple clays just to get them started but keeping them that way into adulthood just seems wrong to me. 

My lad is predominantly left handed and left eye dominant but shoots right handed (my fault as I only ever had RH guns for him to shoot in his early years of shooting) He initially shot with his left eye closed but has managed to overcome this and now shoots RH with both eyes open. No idea how he does it but he does it very well. He has tried a LH gun since and finds it totally alien and prefers to stick with RH.

DT

Dog Tyred said:

My lad is predominantly left handed and left eye dominant but shoots right handed (my fault as I only ever had RH guns for him to shoot in his early years of shooting) He initially shot with his left eye closed but has managed to overcome this and now shoots RH with both eyes open. No idea how he does it but he does it very well. He has tried a LH gun since and finds it totally alien and prefers to stick with RH.

DT

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I think our brains compensate and do what's required and he has youth on his side.  If it works that's all that matters.

If it was Mike Yardley I'd ask for another source. He makes pronouncements about eye dominance in women that he won't back up with evidence, even when asked by Ed Lyons. 

Its was,thats why i asked the question here as we are lucky enough to have a actual professional here.

Both open

To be honest, I think that's a dreadful idea. Should those children then close an eye throwing a ball, jumping a hurdle or riding a bike?

A child's visual system is in a state of plasticity, and continues to develop, so why impose a visually limiting style on a youngster starting out...sounds like a way to INDUCE an eye dominance issue!!

Eye dominance and cross-dominance induced befuddledness is more of an issue when people are aware of it, or think about it too much - I've seen PLENTY of shooters who are AA standard that are not completely hand/eye matched, but were (and remain!) unaware of it...

Any link to the post?

www.positiveshooting.com › YoungShot...

This is it i think.

https://m.facebook.com/Mike-Yardleys-positiveshootingcom-117145241694117/?__tn__=C

This text has some stuff about eyes changing when they get in there teens.

Can't see it on my phone...may have to wait til morning, if closing one eye doesn't help ?

The man is a menace. He won't answer questions about this kind of thing either.

Having shot for nearly 60 years with both eyes open, I can vouch for the fact that now shooting with only 1 eye,  is not easy to adapt to !