Left-handedness

[phoebemommy]

My 4 yo ds is decidedly left-handed. He's getting more serious about "writing", cutting with scissors, etc. lately, and I'm wondering what sorts of things I should help him with to make it easier. I got him a good pair of lefty scissors and suggested he sometimes flip a spiral notebook he has upside down to write in (it makes sense with this particular notebook) so he doesn't have to have his hand on the spiral part.

But what else? I've seen a lot of left-handed products but I don't know which ones are actually useful.

[elizawill]

hi,

i'm left handed. my mom bought me lefty stuff when i was little, but honestly, it didn't benefit me that much. as for scissors, i would encourage your child to learn to cut with their right hand regardless. i do everything with my left hand, with the exception of cutting. it makes it easier, because i can use any pair scissors (and i do crafts a lot, so this helps). for *me*, the most difficult task i had as a leftie was i would smear my words when writing. i can remember having ink or pencil on the side of my hand from dragging it while writing (as an adult, i still can have this happen if i'm not careful). so imho, the most important thing with a leftie is to hold the pencil properly (i.e. just learning not to drag it, which not all lefties do). i'm sure others will have different advice based on their experience, but i hope this helps

[limette]

You don't need to do anything. I'm left handed, and it really isn't a big deal.

[LittleBattleAxe]

I'd definitely NOT use leftie scissors -- or anything else for that matter. There aren't adult leftie scissors (that I've seen, anyway) and there are really no special adaptations that lefties need to learn to use scissors -- or anything else. Children who are lefties will learn to cut with regular scissors through trial and error, just like righties. I'm a lefty and 2/3 of my children are as well --but my kids get MORE frustrated when trying to do something a special way in order to accommodate their handedness. The only thing that I do, and that has been useful for my kids, is to write in notebooks from back to front. Oh, and when using markers, I've taught them to put a square of paper under their hands -- lefties often rest the sides of their hands on the paper where they are writing so they get marker/ink on their hands if they aren't careful.

[widemouthedfrog]

Yep, another leftie here who cannot use leftie scissors at all. He'll need to use right-handed ones anyway, and the leftie ones are a little weird!

I agree about the ink. I hated the ink smears on the side of my hand. Pencil or non-rubbing ink if at all possible - that really helps. I do find that I use the right side of the page less (my hand bumps into it), but really, I mostly type nowadays so it isn't really an issue at all.

[macimom]

I'm also left-handed, but I use regular scissors, etc. I don't think it's a big deal at all and there were never any special things done for me as a child. The way I write, though, I never had to deal with the smears, etc., so if that's an issue then I suppose looking into special ink, etc. might be a good idea.

[cappuccinosmom]

I can't use leftie scissors either. For writing, I'm left-handed. But for many other things I either adapted to "righty" stuff, or found it easier in the first place.

The one, main, hugely important thing my teachers helped me with when I was in school was learning not to hook my wrist when writing. It took a lot of practice, but it made a huge difference in the legibility of my writing, and also allowed me to do things like calligraphy and artwork without smudging the work to death.

I believe there are little "appliances" sold that you can slip a pencil into--those are what I used when I was praciticing writing. In order to have the appliance sit right, I had to keep my arm not hooked. It was frustrating and annoying at first but I am *so* grateful that my teacher was persistent.

[urchin_grey]

DP and DS are lefties. DP has always used spiral notebooks back to front as well. He uses my scissors just fine though.

[zeldamomma]

I'm left-handed too. My suggestions:

1. Don't make a big deal about her handedness-- my mom used to do that whenever I asked her to show me how to do anything where her hands were doing different things, and it made me feel like a freak. I still hate being told that I have to sit at one of the "left-handed corners" at big family meals-- I don't throw my elbows around, and I don't like being singled out (this may be a personal thing-- I know some lefties demand special seating).
2. Look for ambidextrous tools where possible-- a lot of adult scissors have a chunk of plastic that jabs into your hand if you use it with your left. I agree that lefties need to learn to use righty scissors, but they do make lefty scissors for adults, and I like them.
3. Encourage her to find ways to change her work area to suit herself.

[*jeanine*]

Another leftie here. I don't use left-handed scissors. I use right-handed scissors in my right hand. I am apparently a natural-born right-handed cutter. They always gave me the left-handed scissors in school, and I could never cut well. I finally figured out that cutting with my right hand is what's natural to me. OP - one thing I would suggest is don't assume that he'll be left-handed for everything. Make sure to let him choose which hand is most comfortable. We're so used to having to adapt to a right-handed world that some things are more natural right-handed. To the other lefties - are you using the right-handed scissors in your right or left hand? (Oh, and my mom got me some fancy left-handed fabric scissors for my b-day a few years back. They do make left-handed grown-up scissors. Of course, she had to return them and get right-handed ones so I could actually use them.)

[Justmee]

One of my twins is left handed. Honestly, the thing that frustrates her the most is the computer mouse. I put a sticker on the mouse (I don't change it left to right) so she knows where to click. She uses it with her left hand, so the sticker cues her where to push on the mouse to "click" it.

[phathui5]

My 9yo ds is left-handed and likes the lefty notebooks.

[briansmama]

Yep, left handed here too, and completely agree with pp who said that the only issue is the ink/pencil smears across the page and on the side of my hand at the end of the day.

Fortunately, we all type so much more these days that it is not as much of an issue anymore.

I too cut with my right hand without any problems (I sew, knit, do all sorts of crafts).

Totally agree that you shouldn't make left-handedness an issue. It really isn't, and I used to dislike anyone trying to make accomidations for my being left-handed as well.

[Oubliette8]

Originally Posted by widemouthedfrog

I agree about the ink. I hated the ink smears on the side of my hand. Pencil or non-rubbing ink if at all possible - that really helps.

I hate writing in pencil because it always smudges all over the side of my hand, and I find having a graphite smudge irritating to my skin. I try to write in pen wherever possible. Most pens are fine, although some gel or fountain pens are an issue.

I would encourage you to not make many exceptions. Lefties can do most anything righties can. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is desks, but as your homeschooling that shouldn't be an issue. If he's ever in a situation with built in desks though- like desk-chairs or those auditorium desks, he might need a left or ambidextrous desk, or just bring something hard to write on. These have the desk all on the right side of the chair, and it takes quite a bit of contortion for a lefty to use one!

One I would recommend you definitely NOT make is instruments. Not only do left handed instruments tend to be harder to find, but I don't think they're necessary. Most string instruments, for instance, have the left hand doing all the fingering, and the right plucks or bows. Its an ideal set up for lefties because they already have their left hand doing the more complex fine motor parts!I think they have an advantage on regular instruments.

I guess, there are some accommodations- mostly for sports. Being a lefty in baseball can actually be an advantage. Golf isn't that bad either. And target sports like archery, its good to have proper equipment. Although, its really more about your dominant EYE than your dominant HAND for target sports, which is confusing.

[BeanyMama]

Another lefty here! It's really not a big deal- give him supplies and he'll figure it out just like a righty would. I use scissors with my right hand just from figuring it out when I was little, it wasn't an issue. Paper and pencils positions are personal, even among lefties, he'll find his comfy spot

[kristin0713]

Just wanted to comment about the scissors. My dad is left handed and loves his lefty scissors. For as long as I can remember, since I was *very* young, he has had the same pair of adult lefty scissors on his desk and NO ONE is ever allowed to remove them! LOL. Guess it's all a matter of personal preference.

[bea694]

Another lefty here. I never used any of the left-handed stuff...except for the lefty desks in college. That's it. And, I cut with my left hand using regular scissors. Never had an issue with it. Good luck!!

[mommeeoh]

Nice to see all the replies. I have 2 lefties so far (both dd's), one rightie, an unknown, and dh is a leftie (curiously anxious to see which the baby will favor). I initially kept asking dh what I needed to do/get to make things easier for them. He said nothing, its a right handed world and most of the time they won't have access to the "lefty" version of things so they might as well get used to it. Seemed harsh, yet he's right (though I have heard him complain about school desks). As a pp poster said, as they grow older you may find they don't do everything with their left hand. My dh is, to me, ambidextrous really (I'm jealous), amongst other things he bats, throws and golfs R, my oldest dd bats and throws R and it appears to me she might be like dh and rather ambidextrous, while dd2 is a more "true" leftie in all she does including throwing L and batting L and R but favoring L. It amuses me when they set the dinner table, they always seem to switch where the fork and knife are, but when you think about it, its really more natural for them where they are putting it (and they outnumber the R's in the household).