# When can kids close one eye?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 31, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331 "2009-08-31T05:55:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331/21 "2009-09-03T02:14:58Z")

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> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> Mrs. Homie here. Hi.
> 
> On Aaron’s (Mr. Homie’s) urging, I tried this experiment on my class of four-year-olds (Im a preschool teacher). Six out of fifteen could do it.
> 
> Aaron (HH) will be publishing my findings in the _Journal of Pediatrics_ in the next few months.

I’m very surprised! I’ll have to do an informal survey amongst the kindergartners at school. I might even ask my own students (ten-year-olds) and see.

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**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331/22 "2009-09-07T05:17:21Z")

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I can’t wink at all (I’m 39) - I can kind of squinch up the right side of my face and it FEELS like I’m winking, but I’m SO not …

Can’t even get CLOSE on my left side.

As for sneering, although I never thought about it until I read this thread, I can do it on my left side only.

I don’t think my daughter (almost 4) will be able to wink either … she takes after her wink-deficient mom. ☹

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**Author:** ![NikkiNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@NikkiNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NikkiNik)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331/23 "2009-09-29T14:29:52Z")

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My son is 20 months old and can wink with one eye… Only the right one though… when he tries the left one he ends up closing both eyes… it’s cut to watch him concentrating on it

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**Author:** ![Polly\_Glot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@Polly\_Glot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polly_Glot)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-can-kids-close-one-eye/508331/24 "2009-09-29T21:04:04Z")

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The weirdest thing I beheld in my newborn son (and I mean mere _seconds_ after he was born - I was just getting to hold him) was that he looked up at me with one eye closed. Then after a few moments had passed, he closed that eye and opened the other one. “Lather, rinse, repeat” a couple of more times until it was time for grandma to hold him.

For what it’s worth, he’s now 9 years old, and he’s smart as a whip but suffers from severe myopia and ADHD.

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