"Oh good, he's using his right hand!"

[limabean]

I visited my SIL/BIL/nephew today, and DH's (very sweet) grandfather was there. My nephew is 13 months old, and we were rolling a ball back and forth between us today, and DH's grandpa kept saying, "Oh good, he's using his right hand! See how he's picking up the ball with his right hand? Oh, he just rolled it with his right hand!" I just said, "Uh huh ... yep, he sure is ... yeah, that can change up to age 3 or 4 ... yep, we'll see..."

Now, DH's grandpa is in his 90s, but I was still sort of surprised to hear such satisfaction connected with the idea of a baby using his right rather than his left hand. Is it really so desirable a trait? I just can't imagine really even noticing, much less attaching any value judgments to it.

I remember my MIL taking a ball out of DS's left hand and putting it in his right hand when he was about that age, so I'm probably just sensitive to these comments, but it seems like such an oddly important thing in their family! I sort of hope at least one of the grandkids turns out to be a lefty.

[Abraisme]

From what I understand it did USED to be a desired trait. Left-handed children were often forced or encouraged to be right handed so that they would "fit-in".. I wouldn't worry about the comments, it's probably harmless.

[curiouscanadian]

They're probably of the generation that still had their hand smacked with a ruler in school if they tried to write with their left. There was a long time where being a lefty was HIGHLY discouraged, and even now I imagine it still causes frustrations/difficulties at times. So I could see it being desireable to them but I'd chalk it up as something dated, but harmless.

[Happeesupermom]

You know-- LOTS of our US Presidents have been lefties! Just sayin'. :P

[LadyCatherine185]

My family has made comments about DS, who actually uses his LEFT hand.. The HORROR! and then I remind them that my very intelligent DH is left-handed, and that shuts them up.

[milosmomma]

DH seemed a little freaked when DS started using his left hand. He grew up playing sports and is convinced that lefties are more clumsy & awkward than righties (this includes his best friend and his younger brother). I did a search and found several great left-handed athletes (admittedly, most were baseball players or boxers). I also found MANY presidents (as Happeesupermom mentioned) & many GREAT musicians.

I agree with PP....it's definitely a generation thing (regarding the grandpa...not my DH )

[lifeguard]

Definitely a generational thing. But anyone I have known who is left handed has found it to be a nuisance at least occassionally because so many things are built for right handedness. I wouldn't care either way but it is "easier" to be right handed.

[woodchick]

My Grandfather was a lefty as a child, but fully ambedextrious as an adult which he says is because his teacher tied is left arm behind his back so that he would be forced to write with his right hand.

I have some lefty cousins (and DD1 is left-handed) but I don't remember him ever making negative comments about it, though he never had anything nice to say about school.

For someone with that experience (or with a teacher with that view point) I could understand them wanting their grandkids (or great grandkids) to be righties so they wouldn't have to go through that.

[EarthMamaToBe]

Originally Posted by Happeesupermom

You know-- LOTS of our US Presidents have been lefties! Just sayin'. :P

7 to be exact.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

My grandmother was one of the children who started out left handed and was FORCED to become right handed. Its the generation.

My kids are encouraged by everyone (including older relatives) to use whatever hand they want. Usually its both.

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by milosmomma

DH seemed a little freaked when DS started using his left hand. He grew up playing sports and is convinced that lefties are more clumsy & awkward than righties (this includes his best friend and his younger brother). I did a search and found several great left-handed athletes (admittedly, most were baseball players or boxers). I also found MANY presidents (as Happeesupermom mentioned) & many GREAT musicians.

I agree with PP....it's definitely a generation thing (regarding the grandpa...not my DH )

just wanted to comment on this one-- the guy I dated in highschool was also left-handed, and he played several sports and was very athletic. He was even the Quarterback of our football team.

[dividedsky]

my grandfather encouraged me to use my right hand as a kid, i vaguely remember..... it's an old-school weird thing

[Thalia the Muse]

I'm left-handed, and I was very glad my daughter turned out to be right-handed. The world is designed for the right-handed! And logically so, since that's 90% of the population.

It's not like being, I don't know, color-blind or something -- but it's less than optimal. I can't see how being pleased that the grandkid doesn't have to deal with a wrong-handed world is offensive in any way.

[serenbat]

I'm left-handed, and I was very glad my daughter turned out to be right-handed. The world is designed for the right-handed! And logically so, since that's 90% of the population.

It's not like being, I don't know, color-blind or something -- but it's less than optimal. I can't see how being pleased that the grandkid doesn't have to deal with a wrong-handed world is offensive in any way.

I know two lefties and life has been hard for both!! Both wish they were not and could use the right more.

so much of life is very hard for some lefties- eating at a formal dinner, power tools, even simply writing with certain items, no fun to smear ink! There are many everyday tasks that some have a great deal of trouble doing even simple things

our DS is very left and we try very hard to get him to use his right more, unless you have seen one struggle you might not know how deeply this can effect some- it is a right world, sadly

[cappuccinosmom]

For someone who's in his 90's I'm not at all surprised. Likely when he was a child they were still very much forcing children to use their right hands. In the context of how that much older generation was raised, it's a perfectly reasonable concern. Those fears were formed early on in life, and they don't necessarily change as the world changes.

As a lefty, I don't find his concern about handedness all that upsetting or offensive. The world is set up for righties, because most people are righties. It's also sometimes just downright awkward to write left-handed, and I really ahd to struggle to right legibly. I'm ambidextrous for most things except writing, and I feel like that's a huge advantage, actually. For me it has nothing to do with value, just practicality. It's not something to obsess over, but I've been somewhat relieved when each of my children has demonstrated right-hand dominance because it meant that at least one struggle I had as a child (writing legibly left-handed) was not going to be a problem for them.

[Thalia the Muse]

serenbat, left-handedness (or right-handedness, for that matter) is part of the basic wiring -- pushing him to use his right hand won't help, unfortunately.

[serenbat]

won't help, unfortunately

for some it does help, it helps to strengthen the less dominate hand, for an example, it helps when you need to drive a stick, later in life, it is advised for older left handed people to strengthen their less dominate hand, many end up needing walkers and canes and can not bear weight on their left arm/hand

the one person I know just had their shoulder replaced and now must rely more on their less dominate right, this is problematic having done most of your life as a left

[limabean]

Originally Posted by serenbat

our DS is very left and we try very hard to get him to use his right more, unless you have seen one struggle you might not know how deeply this can effect some- it is a right world, sadly

I can understand doing stuff to strengthen the non-dominate hand (seems like it'd be good for right- and left-handed people to do that), but to push a left-handed person to "be" right-handed seems antiquated and like setting them up for failure. It's like saying, "The world is easier to navigate if you're tall, so since my son is on the shorter side I'm really pushing him to be taller."

[MusicianDad]

As many posters have pointed out, being a lefty used to be considered a horrible thing. Your DH's grandfather likely hasn't changed his mind from what he was taught.

Babymomma's mom isn't even close to 90 and she remembers having her left hand tied to her desk in school so she wouldn't use it when writing.

As for sports, in some sports ambidexterity and left-handedness are both very good things to have. Take baseball, most batters and most pitches are right handed and lefties tend to have an advantage when facing righty.

Personally, I think everyone should be ambidextrous. But that just my bias as neither a righty nor a lefty.

[elmh23]

My MIL is naturally left handed but when she was in school she was beat by her teachers and parents any time she tried to use it. My MIL is 65, so I'm not surprised your GFIL still has this idea that it's "bad."