Seeking Advice on Helping Lefties

I just saw this request/what happened posted in the Daily Digest and thought I would read it-being I'm also a lefty. I only eat and write and tie my shoes left-handed and I think everything else is right-handed (I hate lefty scissors!). I never thought about tying my shoes until I tried to teach my stepdaughters how to tie their shoes. One was left handed and the other right. The lefty I taught sitting in my lap so she could mimic my actions the same way I do it. The other I taught sitting across from so she would mimic with the hand on the same side (my left, her right). I didn't see any tips on shoe-tying so I thought I would go ahead and share this. Discovering the difference helped make things easier.

HI! im a lefty, and have been my whole life. my great grandmother was a left handed artist, and man was she amazing! there are a few others in my family here and there. but when i was in Kindergarten, i tried to teach myself to be right handed because everyone else was. when i was in school, they only had really cheesy scissors so i would force myself to use my right hand. and now i can do EVERYTHING with my right hand, even right if i have to. but writing is mainly the only thing i use my left hand for. so i say, let her be. she'll be just fine.

Sorry this is late. I apparently missed this request. I am a lefty and have been for 50+ years. My husband is also a lefty. I tilt my paper when I write and I don't smear my writing. Hubby puts his hand above the writing, which I have always thought was strange. I have seen several lefties do that. I use scissors and throw right handed. I even knit right handed. I remember when I started school, they had talked about trying to change me to being right handed. I am thankful that my dad and grandparents wouldn't let them.

Just let her get her "style" of writing and everything will progress from there.

Good Morning! I am a lefty so I thought I'd put in my two cents. First of all, I am so encouraged that your sister in law is trying to "help" her daughter, rather than try to "convert" her into right-handedness. I had many teachers try to convince me I was doing everything "wrong" and it made a tricky situation even tougher. I'm afraid smearing is part of being a left-handed writer/drawer but there are a few things she might want to try. Look for drawing materials that are harder to smear, such as quick-drying markers, colored pencils and crayons. When coloring in a book with pre-outlined images, such as a 'coloring book', encourage her to start on the right and work her way left. I realize that's a tough concept at her age, but as she grows older it will make more sense. Also, encourage her to not press too hard with her hand as she writes/colors. Keeping a sharp tip on her pencils, when she hits school-age will reduce the smearing, as well. When she gets older and is using pens, I always have better luck with a simple ball-point that has a fine tip over anything else. The fancy gel-pens and the wider tips will take longer for the ink to dry and cause a great deal of smearing. When she gets ready to experience "cutting", make sure she has left-handed scissors or it will be a very frustrating experience for her.

Best of luck to your sister-in-law's little one!

I'm left-handed and have not had too much of a problem with it other than the usual scissors not working, ink on the hand, desks on the wrong side, and spiral notebooks hurting my hand. I have actually come to love my unique-ness. I do think that my problem solving skills are increased due to the fact of always having to adjust to a right-handed world.

I just wanted to let you know of a great web-site I just found with free videos (http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/writing.html) and writing guides (http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/writing.html#freeguides) to help parents teach left-handed children the correct way to write so as not to smudge or cramp the hand while writing.

This is particularly helpful when the child is just learning to draw and write!

Finally, buying paper tablets that open at the top are very essential for lefties, along with left handed scissors.

Good luck!

I am a lefty, am married to a lefty, and 3/6 of my immediate family are lefties. Not much you can do for smearing except use pens that are ballpoint instead of gel. There really shouldn't be too much of a problem other than the writing thing. Most everything is available for lefties i.e. scissors, baseball gloves, etc. Lefties tend to use their right brain more and usually are more creative and math oriented. There are many books on lefties. But as far as everyday life its pretty much the same. Whatever you do don't try to "switch" them to be righties. You may find your child may swing a bat or throw a ball right handed or use scissors right handed - this is common. If you try to switch your child that's what usually makes them curve their arm when they write - they also do that so they don't smear when writing but I keep my arm straight and have no problems smearing. Good luck!

I am a lefty and my husband is coincidently a lefty as well. To make life more interesting we have three right handed children. It has never been a problem for us though. My children each do things just as I would, just with their right hands. As long as you do not try to "switch" her to the right hand, she will figure most everything out. As for the writing...I used to always have a black left hand after I would come home from school. It is something that as time goes on, you either do or do not learn how to put your hand below that trail of ink. She will figure out what she can do with her left and what she can do with her right. Trial and error I guess you can call it. I do most everything left handed, but I can use scissors in my right and I bat right handed. I find that although my left hand is stronger, I have less control of it for some things. The only thing that I can recommend is just to try and guide her when she is uncomfortable. Other than that, everything pretty much comes naturally. Time has made manufacturers and people aware that not everyone is right handed....so it is easier to find things for lefties now than years ago. Best of luck!

Hi, K.. You're probably sick of getting emails regarding your request, but I will give my two cents anyway. I am a lefty of course and I noticed that other lefties curve their hand when they write. When I write, I look exactly like a right-handed person and most people love my penmanship. I had no problems at all writing, drawing or coloring. My son who is 5 years old is left-handed and I never really noticed anything different from my ten year old who is right-handed. I think they just go through these stages of learning how to write, color and draw. Until this email, I never thought that it was so difficult to be a left-handed person. My advice is to just be patient and practice with her daughter more when she starts to go to school and learn how to write. I think she's too young to really tell right now if she is actually having a difficult time as a lefty. After all, she's only 3.

I'm a leftie too. Show her to draw from the R top corner of the page. Sit across from her when you teach her to wright letters, she can mimic better this way. Tell her which hand to use for the pledge of alligience at school. Encourage her to use both hands.Seat her at the left corner of the table to eat so she dosen't hit hands with the person next to her. Read about how lefties thought process works. If you ever teach her to use a shot gun (my dad did)be sure it's left handed, or the shell casings will hit her in the face. Don't give her a complex about it she'll learn at the same pace; just a diffrent way.

Hi, K.!

I'm a leftie as are many of the people who have responded. I've had as many problems with pencils as ball point pens (erasables awere the worst!) as gel pens. I just learned to angle the paper. I didn't learn to hook my hand, though...but I rapidly learned to not smear and not get ink or anything on my hands. She'll figure it out. :)

That being said, I use fountain pens now - without any problems - so really it doesn't matter what someone writes with - it's learning to adapt with the materials you have at hand.

I had parents and teachers that were more concerned that I had neat penmanship and didn't concern themselves overly much that I was holding my pens/pencils with the "correct hand" or in the "correct way"

Being a leftie is fun, though. It's neat going into a room and seeing who else is a leftie - and having an inborn sense of camaraderie. Everywhere I've worked, us lefties have joined up and started bantering together - mostly because when we'd go out to lunch we'd want to sit together so that our elbows didn't clash with non-lefties sitting next to us ;).

But the best tip is? Don't treat her differently - let her explore that particular world for herself if she chooses to :)

If she's struggling - and really the only things I remembered struggling with were things like writing - turn the paper, not the hand ;).

Take care!

Hi K.,
I am D.. And a lefty. But as a child, forced to use my right hand. I just found out a few years ago I have a deformed bone in my right hand. And I am 44, this is why I couldnt use it alot. Tis just a thought. Never know. Let me know how it all turns out. D.

Hey there, my youngest is a lefty. I tried to convert her at first...it doesn't work. I thought it would be difficult for her, but I have come to realize it is no big deal. We just bought her lefty scissors and she figured everything out on her own. She always had smears and got the arms of her long sleeved shirts dirty. Nothing to do about it, they learn to adapt on their own. You may tell her not to write too heavy with a pencil which my daughter did, it smears more. Also, in Kindergarten, her teacher approached me because it appeared she was writing gibberish. It was actually that she was starting at the opposite side of the paper (far right side) and writing towards the left...backwards. She was trying to imitate right handers. Other than that, there were absolutely no issues. We make it a big deal in our family that she is a lefty because it reminds us of beloved family members who were lefties and have now passed. We have had several lefties over the generations. She feels very special and proud about it. She is now 10 and we only think about it when teaching her things like tennis, etc. Have fun with it.

Hi K.,

This is kind of late, I see you got plenty of advice, but just wanted you to know that I am left-handed, and the worst problem for me when learning to write in grammar school was the smearing thing, and I eventually figured out how to avoid it. I hold a pen normally, not curved around or anything like that. My parents just left me alone and didn't try to do anything to change me, which was the best thing -- I truly believe you can screw up neurological patterns if you try to change someone's natural tendencies -- case in point, my mother. My mother was a lefty, but my grandfather (straight from Ireland) forced her to write right-handed -- all the people from the old country associated left-handedness with evil -- look at the Italian word for left, "sinistra" -- sinister! Well, she has a speech impediment, her brain goes too fast for her mouth sometimes and she can't get her words out properly. It's not a stutter, it's a very unique-sounding impediment -- my sister and I had a lot of fun at her expense growing up, but in fact it is very frustrating for her, and it manifests more severely when she is tired. Oh, and by the way, she writes right-handed, but she still does everything else lefty, so you really can't change a person totally!

Also, I noticed someone said that you will find your niece may do a couple of right-handed things but be mainly left-handed. This is true of me. I do everything lefty, except when I play sports I tend to hold a bat and a golf club right-handed.

Anyway -- my parents bought me "lefty" scissors, there are often a few left-handed desks in high school and college, there are stores totally dedicated to selling products for the left-handed. Yes, it is a "righty" world, but as I like to say, we lefties are the only ones in our "right" mind! ha ha!

Good luck and don't worry about it!

D.

Turn the paper slightly to the right (no more than a 45 degree angle) when writing.

Teach her things like shoe tying or proper pencil grasp by standing behind her and putting your arms over hers - something about having to watch you sit across from her and then flip it is harder than you showing her on her vantage point side.

My son would see other kids steady their left foot, then throw with their right, so he'd steady with left and throw with left! Just keep an eye out for those things and then teach them how to adapt, like, "See the kids are putting the foot opposite the arm they're throwing with down, then throwing."

MODEL TASKS LIKE A LEFTY!!!!

I am left handed and no one in my family was (my daughter might be -- might just be copying my actions). Really nothing different was done until school and my parents purchased notebooks with spirals on the top or right. I also had special scissors for school and home to make everything from craft projects to school projects easier. As an adult I keep a left handed pair around for sewing or holiday wrapping, other than that I use the pair in the junk drawer and they work fine.

Most teachers pick up on the lefties and as long as your child it not forced to do something unnatural she will be fine (might be worth mentioning at meet the teacher day); if there is a task that is seemly difficult, double check teachers/care givers are not trying to force her (i.e. tie her shoe - as a child I used two loops and everyone else used the loop around and pull through- I got the job done, but not like everyone else) SPORTS: Most coaches are excited about a lefty player but there is special equipment that is necessary for some sports (gloves for softball, clubs for golf)

I am a lefty and I come from a family (father, brother, daughter) of lefties. My advice would be to leave her alone and let her be one! I'm 56 years old, and I still smear the paper when I write or draw with certain pens, etc.--it's part of the fun of being a lefty! As far as scissors go, there are those wonderful bilateral scissors for children that allow cutting with either hand. As for pencil grip, many lefties are unique with this--please suggest NOT trying to change her grip to the "normal" (right-handed) way, since pencil grip is about brain dominance, and this is specific to each person, regardless of handedness. Being a lefty has many advantages, such as in sports. Whereas my brother is a "pure lefty", I seem to be more "cross dominant"--right-eyed and left-handed, and I'm quite ambidextrous. Many famous people have been/are left-handed. It is a gift, not a curse. jenifer

She's just a kid like eveyone else, the smearing happens when all kids draw. When writing comes along, she'll just turn her paper a little to keep her hand clean. I'm a lefty, and the only adjusting I needed was a lefty pair of scissors and a left-handed baseball glove! Magnadoodles are great, but they attach the stylus to the right side, so just have her flip it upside down to have it on the left, or detach the string. Spiral notebooks- - -I just start on the back page so the spiral is on the right! And don't expect all activities will be on the left. My 7 year old son writes left, catches and throws right, and can bat from either side.....just let them do what feels most comfortable.

I'm not sure if I can explain this adequately or not-but here goes. In kindergarten I had a teacher who used the Mae Carden method and she had us turn our body to the right so we were lined up in what appeared to be sideways in the desk. Basically you angle the paper, the body and the person to a degree that is comfortable. Somewhere between 90 degrees and 45 degrees. You modify the placement of the paper and do not turn your wrist or hand to an uncomfortable position. I was taught all the other skills front to front instead of side to side. Front to front you can copy the movements with the same hand-side to side it gets confusing. Real left handed scissors are essential. Good luck!

I'm a lefty myself who learned almost everything the right handed way--so I can use either hand but prefer my left for things like writing, drawing, eating, but I'm right handed as far as throwing, bowling, etc, and I'm stronger in my right arm. The first thing is to help her slant her paper the opposite way a right hander would, so she should slant to the right, that helps with the smearing and smudging and will eliminate the "upside down" writing that I do.
As she gets older there are lots of "lefty" products out there now--from scissors to notebooks. Have fun and celebrate your little "only one in her right mind" person!

My daughter is a lefty but my two sons are both right handed.
My mother,her brother, their mother and several of their mother's siblings as well as two of my uncle's children are left handed. It can skip a generation or just appear with no connection to past generations. My biggest problem with my daughter being left handed was that the school system refused to allow her to be left handed. They tried to make a right handed person of her, but the only thing they succeeded in making her do right handed is use a scissors because they kept taking away her left handed scissors that I sent to school with her at least once a week. I changed her to a different school and had no more of that problem because the teachers there were much more accepting of the child being left handed. My advice to your sister-in-law is let the child continue to use her left hand when she wants to and then when she starts school do not let the teachers try to force her to use her right hand. My daughter developed a way of holding her papers sideways so that there were no smears on it when she drew or wrote as a result she also developed the neatest handwriting her teachers had ever seen and by the time she entered middle school she was asked by the teachers to write on the board for them so that the class could read every word.

Your neice would fit right in at my house. Only me and my second daughter are right handed and my hubby and the 3 other children are left handed. Your neice will have no trouble figuring stuff out on her own.

Writing is a huge issue with left handed people. Our trick was to use pencils with harder lead (hard lead puts fewer particles on the paper) and only fine point pens (fine point puts less ink on the paper so it dries asap leaving no time to smudge).

They make a lot of stuff for left handed people but most of it is unneeded. My kids all cut with right handed scissors. In fact when the nursery school teacher gave my daughter left handed scissors she couldn't use them.

hi,

your sis-in-law should know by now if she is a lefty. my son is totally left handed and can't do anything but use scissors with his right hand. (i accidently bought him right-handed scissors in kindergarten) your sis-in-law doesn't need to do anything she wouldn't do with a right handed kid. also tell her NONE of the old wives tales are true about lefties. they are intelligent, bright, beautiful people. (i know!!) just let the daugther go about her business with whatever hand she chooses.

i'm sure you're going to get a LOT of advice on this one. there are many resources out there for left-handers and parents of lefties. here are a few i found online:
http://www.scotts-lefthanded-world.com/left-handed-resour...
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/lspeak.html
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/lefty-faq/

there are usually left-handed society chapters in your town as well. perhaps a google search would turn up more local resources.

as a lefty in an all right-handed family, i can tell you that the biggest help to me was my grandmother. she was my advocate in being left-handed. she made me feel like i was special and unique and always encouraged my left-handedness. she spoke up for me to coaches and teachers, letting them know i was left-handed and pressuring them to teach me as a lefty, not forcing me to conform.

it is indeed a bit of a challenge to be a lefty in a right-handed world. everyday things are something to be negotiated rather than a natural act. writing, using scissors, can-openers, playing sports or musical instruments. some lefties find it easier to just adapt and do things with their right hands. some lefties turn things around and use them backwards. however, using the hand that doesn't feel natural or using tools in a way they were not intended to be used can often make a lefty seem clumsy and can certainly lead to some dangerous situations. unfortunately, until manufacturers start catering to lefties, it's just something we have to deal with.

while i definitely advocate encouraging a lefty to do what is natural, the simple fact of the matter is that your sister-in-law's daughter is going to have to do some left-handed negotiation in the world. she's going to have to figure out how to get along in a right handed world. so, my advice is, find resources and support, encourage her, be an advocate for her, but let her figure out how to negotiate things on her own. it certainly builds character and helps with problem solving skills. and, since most lefties become a bit ambidextrous by default, if her daughter were to ever hurt her left hand/arm, switching to the right wouldn't be quite as difficult. being able to switch back and forth can also be a benefit in sports, since righties have such a difficult time adapting to lefties.

as for the smearing - just put a little piece of paper under her hand as she draws, until she learns to pick her hand up a little when she colors/writes.

hope this helps!

K.,

I have 2 sons who are lefties. One is 14 and one is 6. It runs in my family. I am right handed but I can use both hands to write and I do alot of things with my left hand. Teaching them how to write was easy since they could see how I was holding the pencil or crayon. Also, to teach them to tie shoes, you should sit across from them so they can mimick you. I play ball with them, even though I am right handed I will use one of my boys glove and throw with my left. They only thing I did notice with my youngest is that when he says the pledge of allegiance, he uses his left instead of his right, even though he has been in kindergarten for a year now, he still struggles with that. I haven't really had too much of problem with smearing anything though.

hi K. '
My grandaughter is left handed she is 6 you dont do anything differnt with them .except put there left shoe on 1st their lrft side of clothing 1st ect.Do not try to make her right handed .handed judt lay the colors down she find her our nautral way to deal with it .my granddaughter is in kindergadger she writes like all K>.do she reads and colors she is just fine just let her be
L.

I'm replying late, so forgive me if this is already listed. Here is a link to a cool store for lefties. I used the spiral notebooks all through high school and college. http://www.lefthandedshop.com/
As a special ed teacher, I highly recommend the Fiskars kid scissors. They can be used for either right or left handed cutting. You can get them at Target or Wal Mart.

We lefties are a fabulous bunch! I know you've received more than enough advice on what to do with your nephew but I couldn't resist adding my two cents...my son was a lefty until someone told him "all the cool people are right handed" and then, no matter what I said or did, he began using his right hand. It has slowed him down considerably and his handwriting it terrible. Personally, I find the left handed notebooks, etc. silly. In school I just flipped my notebook over and wrote in it that way. Also, I slanted my paper instead of turning my arm which made writing soooo much easier. As your nephew grows, he is going to have to make do in what some are calling "a right handed world", but really it isn't a big deal. And throughout life, he will have to make adjustments for a myriad of things. Encourage and celebrate his specialness!!

Hi all,

I must have missed this email. I have a son who is a leftie and it is hard to teach him how to write..he does have both left and right handed scissors. The hard part is helping him with writing, getting the paper the right way and his hand, he doesn't have a tight grip on his crayons or pencils. Plus lefties make some of their letters differently than we do. So i am glad i came upon this and got some advice. Hope all goes well with your niece. They will fit in fine once they figure out the art of being left handed but it take a little bit more time!!

L.

Just want to add that I am a leftie and has never experienced the problem of what many reported. For one, many are not aware that I am a leftie as I do not write in an "awkward" way or do things in the way that many attribute to lefties. My mouse for my PC is on the right and I use my right hand for many things. To sum it up there is absolutely nothing different, deviant, special about being a south paw except for when people try to change us...and guess what??? it seems like we are very smart. Can we attribute that to being a leftie?

I am a mother of five children, 4 girls and 1 boy, and the Oldest is a Girl and she is a lefty, and my son is the last one and he is a lefty and my husband and myself are both right handed. I will say just leave her she will develop handly her lefty all on her own, it will come natural just like using the right hand.

I am a true lefty, even did the mirror writing when I was young. I do not curl my hand, when I write. I write just like a right handed person, only with my left hand. The only thing I do with my right hand is use my mouse. I see that you have received some great ideas. The only thing that I can remember really needing assistance on was learning to tie my shoes, and what child does not. The suggestions you have received on helping her learn to tie her shoes are right on. Other than that I do not remember having a lot of difficulties growing up. I do use left handed scissors and I have purchased some left handed liquid measure cups. I have grown up being very proud of being a lefty. I have talents that my right handed friends and family do not have. It will all work out for her and with less difficulty than you all might think. She will surprise you in her ability to adapt to a right handed world…let her be proud!

Hi K., I'm in my sixties. What I always remembered the most was with family and friends. Lefties sometimes look awkward when doing things. Therefore someone would always say, Oh let me do that for you. Sometimes I just wanted to scream and tell them I'm perfectly able to do anything you can, I just don't look as graceful as a right handed person.
They all meant well, but some times it's overwhelming.
So when she looks like she's struggling, she really isn't.

Angle the paper to the left instead of the right .No more smeering.

At most teacher supply stores they carry notebooks for lefty's. The binding is on the right side so it is comfortable. My 7 yo son is a lefty and he really likes these notebooks. We go to the teacher supply in the shopping center with Hodges Food Basket- I-45N just before Woodlands Parkway. Hope this helps.

I'm a leftie and have had very little problems. My only suggestion is to buy her left handed scissors when she gets to that age. Regular (right handed) scissors can be frustrating for lefties.

My son is a lefty as well and were all righties. I learned to do the mirro technique and used fat crayons and pencils. as far as the smeared paintings, it'll take time and practice.

Lefties run in my family--both I and my husband have left-handed siblings, and our 3 year old son is a definite lefty. We've found the best thing is to just let him be to do his own thing, and only intercede if something is bothering him (so far, it hasn't been). We try to provide drawing materials that don't smear much (quality crayons have done well), and when he's older and will be working with more items, we're definitely going to be getting things geared towards lefties. I never understood why my brother insisted on needing left-handed scissors until he told me to try cutting left handed with regular scissors. Couldn't do it! Sounds like your sister-in-law is supporting her daughter instead of trying to change her, and that's the most important thing.

I am a mother of nine children......no lefties, but my husband and his brother (only 2 kids) are lefties.....their mother wrote with her right hand, but I am sure she was a leftie......she had learning problems all her life because of this. She said that she had to "think left" and then "do right". I don't think ( in my humble opinion) it is a good idea to try to change a "natural" inclination. I think it always creates more problems than if you just leave the child alone to develop on his/her own. I think that as your neice develops, she will adapt the hand coordination she needs to adjust the problem.......and then, maybe not...but whatever the outcome......all will be o.k. in time. In the great scheme of things.....this will seem a lot less important as the years of others struggles occur. Good luck. MKH

There is not much you can do. It's not as if she has a crippling disease. Just allow her to be herself. Do Not force her to use her right hand.

I know my response is a little late, but maybe helpful anyway. My son was a natural lefty from babyhood. When handed something to his right hand he would pass it to his left. He even kicked with his left foot right off the bat.

My most important suggestion is to let her teachers know. Since she is preschool age, small things like left handed scissors would be quite helpful. You can find those at any teacher supply store. Also, ask her teachers (when she is school bound) to let her sit on the end so that she does not bumb elbows with others.

The most important thing to remember and acknowledge is that the way her brain is processing certain things is different than ours. We had problems with shoe tying because of this. Luckily his first grade teacher was left handed and he could relate to her way of things.

Because you now have a lefty in the family, you will be amazed at how many others there are around. I found that the more I talked about his left handedness the more people knew someone or were themselves left handed and filled with suggestions.

My son is now ten. He is really comfortable with himself and his unique gift. I have always let him know that being left handed is something special about him.

I hope this was helpful and not overkill. Most important though is to let the teachers know when she goes to school because the little things in the classroom will help a great deal toward her success in school.

I'm a lefty, my mom, my husband and child are too. The thing is, keep in mind, she may only be left handed when writing or drawing. My child bowls with his right hand, I cut paper with my right hand, I also bat right handed.
Yes, lefties will sometimes do things backwards, that is okay! don't stress, she'll figure it out. WHATEVER YOU DO, don't let the teachers in school MAKE HER right handed!!! nothing is more damaging than that! I was a strong willed child and even they attempted and I did not change. No, I did not get good grades in penmanship - but a A, B student otherwise. My husband on the other hand, the teachers forced him to be right handed for a couple of years and it just slowed down the learning process!

Hi K., I am left handed also. I am a hair dresser and love to paint. When I paint I draw the picture and then paint from right to left. Each one will figure their own way. Good luck. J.

K.
2 out of my 3 children are lefties and there is no history of lefties in our families. I love it and never really had a problem with it. They used to get frustrated at times because the wire ring on the notebook was "in the way" but they just learn to adopt to it. You may want to turn the page some but I would not worry about it. I got both of them a lefty calender for Christmas at BandN and it names a lot of very bright people that are lefties...

My mother is a lefty and she writes as though she is a righty. One things she always told me was when she was begining to learn to write her teacher, who also was a lefty, Always turned her paper towards the right instead of the left. That way when she would write it would keep her wrist straight instead of upside down like the majority of leftys. Which, by the way, I think my daughter is also going to be a lefty or both. (don't know how to spell the actual term.) I hope that this helps.

Hi K.,
I also have the only lefty in the family who is now 7 yrs old and trust me it was not easy to teach her how to do all the things that she needed to learn (eating, tying shoes, even buttoning her shirts). The easiest way to teach her is to find someone ( friends or family) who is also a lefty to show her how to do things that she needs to learn.
H. Sirmons

Hi, I just saw your email on lefties. I am a lefty and my oldest daughter is also a lefty. She is 8 years old and has never once commented on having any problems related to being left handed. It is unique, as only approx. 10% of the population is left handed. The funny thing is, is that I have a hard time showing my right handed daughter how to do things.
I agree with the other responses on getting left handed scissors,note books different pens/pencils do help. It is definitely a right handed world, but she will do just fine. It will be interesting to see if she developes into an artist-as many lefties are. There are many famous artists, inventors, actors who are lefties too.
Have a great day.

my husband is a lefty..and actually he loves it! it's to his advantage in bowling and baseball. i really think it's the old school thinking that we need to change who they are...embrace her uniqueness!

Hmmm, my son is left handed but we have never really ever done anything to help him - he draws and does art all the time and doesn't have any problems, I think he has figured it out as he goes along, none of the rest of us are left handed either. I guess he just has to wash his hands more often?

Hi K.,

This is interesting! My daughter is a lefty and my nephew is a leftie. Not sure where they got this from cause there are NO lefties on either side of the family (that we were aware of). My daughter is amazing! She loves being left handed cause there are not many girls that are, so she likes being different. She excels at everything she does! The only tip is this...when she first started gymnastics, she already knew how to do cartwheels and things like that, but I saw that they were making her to it the way a right handed person would. I had to tell them that she was a leftie and they were surprised at how well she knew how to do a cartwheel. So, with sports and things like that, let them know cause it may make a difference. It all depends on her and her preference to what she is most comfy with. My nephew is a great baseball player. His biggest advantage is that there are far too few leftie pitchers around, so he has that specail advantage over other players. So, when the going gets tough, it's probably all in the parent's head cause being a leftie is a great thing. Let her live up to her natural potential. The funny thing is that my daughter is going to the 4th grade now and I have never seen smudged writing, so I did not even understand what you were referring to until I read some of the other comments. I guess I am trying to say that if that is the worse that comes out of being a leftie, so be it;) Good luck to her parents!!!

I am a lefty and it is not a big deal unless you make it one. I do everything left handed, even sports. Your niece does not need special crayons or pencils, just let her be herself. I do not curve my arm and I slant my paper to the right-no ink on hands and my writing is fine. For me this was never an issue in school and I am 36 now. I am able to use sprial notebooks and right handed scissors. Let your niece know that it is fun to be left handed and it is not any more difficult to learn to write or color than a right handed person. I am the only left-handed person in my family and I never saw it as a problem, just a unique trait that I have.

I am left handed. Let her be left handed. My mom and dad set in front of me so that when we faced each other it looked the same. I am really do things with both hands. The only things I do with my left is write, and mostly eat. I do all sports, right handed, I can eat right handed and if needed I can write fairly well right handed.

Sometimes forcing her to change may be frustrating to her.

B.

I am a lefty and have only had problems smearing with that "eraser-mate" erasable pen ink that came out in the '80s.

I would recommend a magna-doodle. My daughter was very artistic and would draw on that thing non-stop. Since it is magnetic on a board, no smearing. Also maybe work with her to lift the heel of her hand just a little as she is writing or drawing. I wouldn't give her water soluable or washable markers (oh how I love those for obvious reasons) but she will not smear as much with the regular kind. I never needed special left-handed scissors and have become quite ambedextrous...I only write and eat with my left, so let her find her way. Good luck.

Hi K.,
Encourage them to help her develope what her strength is. If it is the left hand, that is wonderful...that means very creative, musical, artistic etc...when you are left handed, you use the right side of your brain. Left handed people have special abilities that right handed people do not have. It is vice versa also. If I am not mistaken, left handed people are also very smart in Math. You could have an engineer on hand. ALways develope their strengths. All people can learn things the same like math, art, music but for some it just comes naturally. My family was always brought up that it is not proper to use the left hand so they forced all children to be right handed. I guess it isn't such a bad thing because those that are left are also right but it is not natural. She also needs to be taught to hold the paper a different way to avoid smearing especially writing. Just think opposite of what you do with the paper.

hi, we have a grown son who is a lefty, he's a great guy & he started using his left hand exclusively when he was learning to eat. about the only thing he does right handed is bat a ball. don't worry about her, she is perfect the way she is.

what the heck is the big deal.. i'm a "Lefty", for 32 years now ....I've never had any "issues"!!! maybe you people have a little too much time on your hands!!!!((your RIGHT hands))

I'm NOT a lefty, but it seems to me that at 3 yrs. old she probably hasn't figured out yet whether or not she is in fact a lefty! She may be just trying things out! and she may end up ambidextrious!(sorry about that spelling). anyway I think that you should neither encourage nor discourage her on either hand! I have known someone who only writes with her left hand and does everything else with her right hand!I find that kinda strange, but that's what is comfortable for her and she is an English school teacher! (she's not English, she teaches English). Anyway, my point is that I don't think you should determine now which hand she is going to use for anything, let her try using both when ever she wants to!. I had an aunt who taught me how to crochet, (she was left handed,I am right handed! ) It was a tough lesson, but I was able to turn it around and do it opposite of her and I can crochet right handed! Let her figure most of it out, and just give her some aids to help make the transition. Give her a pair of right handed scissors and a pair of left handed scissors. let her choose.

Congratulations! Your niece is in their RIGHT mind!! My husband and I are also left-handed. Although things are a bit different for us (scissors, spiral notbooks, those crazy college desks). Your niece will figure things out just fine. As her family, just be aware of this so you can help her out along the way. I ALWAYS got low marks in handwriting since my letters didn't slant the right way and my work sometines smeared. I was never any good at sports and have always wondered if it was because no one ever took the time to show me left-handed during PE. I loved the shotgun post! It's a great example of things to watch as your niece grows!

Hello K.,

My son who is now 20 is a lefty, my 3 daughter, myself and my hubby are right handed. I went through the same thing as you are and asked some lefty's for help. It really didn't help a whole lot though lol. He eventually figured it out on his own.
My sis n law and the brother of mine she is married to are both lefty's lol. I hope you find something that works. My brother to this day HATES using pens, because he gets ink on his hands lol.

Good Luck
T.

Hi my daughter Hannah (5) is left handed and is starting school this fall. it will be interesting to see how she does with it. we have no one in the family who is left handed. so far no issues have shown up about this. i figure she will do the best she can with it and hopefully there will never be any major issues. i think it's kind of neat.

Tips? she's three, leave her alone. she's probably not struggling, her family is. I'm a lefty, one of my son's is, and some neices and nephews. My grandma "made" one of my older sisters turn right handed. she's still clumsy. she didn't drive a car until she was in her late 20's. we bat left and right, cut with scissors left and right, and I was a big rough house and broke my arm a couple times growing up and can write left and right. How many fof you right handed folks can? I'm a fairly good artist, my hand and paper stay straight not turned, when using ink, I simply lift my hand so as not to drag it in the ink, and have nice clean paper. (my hand isn't lazy, and can handle the weight of it's self). My husband teases me about being a lefty, but I'm more talented and tolerant than he is. hmmmmmm? If that's her "only" problem, bless her. Wait until she's a teenager, than write again about what needs help!!!! hahahhahaaaa

No advice, other than there used to be a magazine for left-handed folks/kids when my leftie cousin was little. I'd say use Google and see what you can find! I know the magazine had ads and such in it, but it also had articles in it, and it even opened from right-to-left, which felt more natural to a lefitie. Enjoy her uniqueness!

I was a leftie growing up til I decided to change myself over in high school. There really isn't anything you can do about the smearing, but I've seen several who actually write upside down! You might give that a try. If the little girl turns out to be ambidextrous (does things with both hands) like me, she'll learn to adapt, and this will be a very handy skill as she gets older. I wouldn't pressure her to change though. I've heard of negative effects coming from that although I never went through such pressure or experienced the effects. Just let her be herself. She'll either find the best way to manage, or she'll change herself when she's ready.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

R. C.

I don't know where you live, but there used to be a store in San Francisco on Pier 39 that was all lefty stuff! It was cool! Not sure if they are still there, but if they are, I'm sure you can google it.

i'm a leftie, and i lift my hand or curl it around the paper to keep from smudging.

Hi K.,
My daughter is left handed. We don't make a big deal out of it. One suggestion is to put her cup on the left side of her plate. You'll have fewer spills. Also, turn her plate where the food is on the right side. That way she isn't pushing the food all the way across the plate as she eats with a fork/spoon.

We also had no lefties until she came along so things are different, but you'll figure it out as you go along.

God bless!!

Sorry I got into this late but have been moving. I have been a leftie for 38 years. I don't really think that I am different in anyway except in learning to crochet and to braid hair I do it backwards. When she and if she wants to learn those things teach her in a mirror. That is how my grandma taught me. Also when I was growing up my grandma ran a department in a university bookstore. She sent me lefthanded nootbooks. They helped me a lot not to smear my homework. Hope this helps.

Hi K. I'm a leftie. Please invest in a book about lefties or search the webb. I say this because I was the only one. My mom said that she was forced to use her right hand and since she is old school and taught that we should encourage our kids to use the right hand she taught my brother to use his right hand. Not a good idea. With me I doubt if I ever paid attention to what she was trying to do because she sayes that I just take the object she handed to me in my right hand and put it back in my left and keep going. Lol you would have to know me I don't pay attention to what people are wanting me to do I tend to tune things out. Anyway I suggested getting advise because I didn't have any, I had old school teachers and was ridiculed about my messy smeared papers. Another thing is that I do most other things right handed like batting, throwing, catching so when I was in highschool. I became a switch hitter and started throwing with my left hand and catching with my right. Great improvement, thanks to a smart left handed coach. Anyway get this it helped me do better in school because it helped me exercise the other side of my brain. A few years a go I injured my left hand and had to write with my right hand and I actually write okay with it and I noticed even more so that its helping me exercise both sides of my brain even more so. Interesting facts but the main thing is to help her learn her left hand first. Teach her how to get around smearing and such. I'm sure a book or the internet will be your best bet. Good luck and I'm so glad that the world has come a long way when it comes to left handers and among other things disabilities. When I was young you just thought there was something wrong with you.

I'm a lefty and so is my 5 year old son. I didn't do anything to help him. He does everything with his left hand...eats, writes, throws. I think it is unique and wonderful. I also had problems when I wrote on a regular tablet especially the one with spirals. It hurt my hands. Happy to say they make tablets for lefties now. We also turn our books or hand a weird way to write and it is only to make us comfortable. Don't try to correct this as you will end with writing that you don't understand. I had a teacher who was a lefty that had to turn her tablet upside down to write. Lefties are also great in Math and Arts so you all could build on these qualities for her. It has something to do with using the other side of the brain (right-side) than right handed people who uses the left-hand side. My son is incredibly intelligent and does more stuff than a regular 5 yr old. Tell your SIL that she has nothing to worry about.

What! I hope the information I'm reading is not saying that you guys want the 3 year to be a righty instead of a lefty. Please don't tell me that's what I'm seeing. Well, it seems to me that someone in the family is a lefty....the 3 year old and you should keep it that way. My tipe to you all is don't try to undo what God has already done. In the dark...you're right, because you're definitely in the dark! I'm a lefty and I have three kids. All are right-handed, but I never tried to reverse anything. There's always a first and she seems to be the one. I can only imagine if you guys are trying to change her from being a lefty to a righty, what's gonna happen if she decides she wants to play "pee wee" basketball instead of being a cheerleader?

Just leave well-enough alone.

P. G

Hi K.: My daughter is Ambidextrous - she writes mostly with her left now (she is 14). When she was young we honestly didn't know which hand she would favor for writing because when one got tired she switched to the next. However, she like many others have stated can also do many other things with her right hand. She is also very creative and thinks outside the box. The amazing thing is sometimes I thought she wasn't understanding something, but she clearly understood and would totally come up with a different way to look at the situation, and how to solve it.

My daughter said she usually twists her paper to the right to try to avoid smearing, but she said you really can't help that - it more depends on the kind of pencil you use, mechanical pencils work best to avoid the smearing. She is also very creative.

Tell her to let her daughter learn and experiment, she may favor her left now and change to the right later. I think not stressing on it would be the best gift. She will learn to work it out if she has any problems. Let her be creative - draw, paint give her a bunch of miscellaneous stuff and see what she can create, the lefties I know are very creative. Let her play with pots and pans and boxes. Make sand paper letter flash cards. Giver her different textures to enjoy.

I have always been very open with my kids with creativity, I guess that is now why my almost 13 year old son is in the process of splatter painting his room now, which is not what I would have originally chosen because I like things more neat and orderly looking (however, it is turning out nicely and I am glad that he has his own style) Left handers also think with the opposite side of the brain than a right hander, so don't be surprised when they don't fit into the box the school/society/and teachers try to mold them in - rather be very proud. I think the school does a grave injustice to our children trying to get them to all think too much alike. I think the same for right handers celebrate when they come up with solutions/plans that aren't exactly the same as everyone else's.

Celebrate her differences/uniqueness and she will be a happy well adjusted child.

Take care,
K. E.

A little about me:
I'm 46, married 18 years in July, and have two teenager girls and my baby boy turns 13 in July. I am also crazy enough to be going back to school, but not crazy enough to take summer school. I have found the kids need you more as they are older - just in different ways (now for taxi-service =) I love to write, you probably noticed by the length of my response!

K. C,

My husband is left handed and so are his three siblings. All have different personalities and talents. Both of his parents are right handed. No mental illness or violence, etc.

Please note these famous lefties: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, the list goes on.

I say don't change a thing. They make brushes and flatware for lefties too. HA HA

D.

Dear K., My youngest granddaughter is a "leftie". We don't know of anyone else who is either, except my son James. This little girl is his sister's child, and that sister is adopted. Anyway, trust me, they will figure out the tie for shoes and whatever else .... It's very difficult for you to attempt to do things backwards. Becky is 6 years old now, and does just fine.

Best wishes. Have a great summer !

I am a "Lefty" of 47 yrs. I have two son's that are "Lefty" and they are doing just fine. One problem will be with scissors. Most are made for "Righty". There are lefthanded notebooks that help with the issue of the spine that always gets in the way of writing.

Im a lefty and I had to learn everything on my own. Dont work against it. Best way to do it is get on the oposite side of her and show her. Then go behind her and with her left hand help her. It was really hard for me and it set me back in school because they tried to force me to be right handed--It didn't work. For you to go on the other side of her its like looking in a mirror and she can mimic what you do so you wont have to use your left hand. Oh and she will more then likely write her letters different starting at a different point then right handed people. Just let her experiment so she can find her way. She may also tilt her paper some to help her see the things she cant see with her hand in the way. oh and if you get her sissors that are for right handed people she will more then likely turn them up side down like I do.

hope this helps some.

Hi K.,

This response comes a little late as others have but just got a chance to read your request. I am a 61 year old grandma of 3. I have never had a real problem. Actually, I am ambidextrous. I eat and write left handed and I have beatiful handwriting. The main problem I have is smearing the paper as some others have said. Turning the paper will help. I am also very creative. Please don't worry too much about this. These days there are stores carrying things for lefties and she will be able to adjust to what is comfortable for her. I do agree that telling preschool teachers and elementary teachers about your child is a good idea. She is a special person and you'll be surprized at the things she will accomplish.