Left Handed

[AnonyMouse_8044]

We have a child in the school who uses both hands. Her mother has asked us to ensure that she uses her right hand which leads me to wonder whether this child is not actually a left-handed child. As far as I am aware, "persuading" a left handed child to use her right hand will hinder development. Anyone have any expertise here? Or any links?

 

TVM

[AnonyMouse_64]

I don't know if this is any use to you.

 

http://www.capitalhealth.ca/especiallyfor/...nddominance.htm

 

Also, ask the parents if there is any history of ambidextrous people within the family as it is thought to be hereditary. We had one little chap who constantly swapped hands. When I mentioned it to his parents during a meeting they told me that dad was like this and so they had not even thought about it.

[AnonyMouse_8044]

Thank you Carol

[AnonyMouse_8466]

My mum was a leftie and she told me how horrid it was to have her left hand tied behind her back to make her right handed!

 

I always encourage children to use whichever hand they appear most comfortable using and the one they achieve most control with.

 

Am going to look at Beau's link now and see what I should be doing!

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_10713]

My mum is also left handed and was 'forced' to be right handed to no avail!!

 

Staff at work there are two 'lefties' and four 'righties'. This is really good as I find it very difficult to show left handed children how to form letters correctly (my problem not the children!!).

 

I knew a girl at school who could use both hands equally well which was a great help when painting her own finger nails!!

 

I can't understand why a parent would want to encourage a child to use their right hand? Or is that just me?

[AnonyMouse_13453]

My mum is also left handed and was 'forced' to be right handed to no avail!!

 

Staff at work there are two 'lefties' and four 'righties'. This is really good as I find it very difficult to show left handed children how to form letters correctly (my problem not the children!!).

 

I knew a girl at school who could use both hands equally well which was a great help when painting her own finger nails!!

 

I can't understand why a parent would want to encourage a child to use their right hand? Or is that just me?

 

I have one trying to encourage her son to use his left as she thinks it looks intelligent! DUH! He's really right handed so we are going to have to work on her a bit I think!

[AnonyMouse_3975]

I have a son who is lefthanded and kicks with his right foot and a son who is righthanded and kicks with his left foot. My left handed son's teacher told me his cutting skills were terrible and I needed to give him more practice - I could not understand this as he was okay at home - it turned out he wasnt able to use lefthanded scissors - he carried a pair of lefthanded scisosrs from that day on in his pencil case priblem solved he is now eighteen and still carries his own pair of scissors in his pencil case for college albeit a bit small.

 

smiles

[AnonyMouse_75]

I'm a leftie and my brother is too he was forced to use his right hand and even now his hand writting is unreadable so what was the point? my mum told the school not to force me to use my right hand but I remember for a long time at school i would use both hands

 

I do remember reading some research about right and left handed and how children need to fully develop/aquire the skills of their particular hand because is all linked to right/left brain use, forcing a child to use the wrong hand can in effect disable them causeing all kinds o co-ordination problems (sorry but i cannt remember were i saw the article)

[Guest]

I have been sitting with my daughter (4) this afternoon, trying to mark make the different children's names in her nursery class for Christmas cards, me being a rightie and her a leftie trying to form the letters is hard going.

I do so want to get this correct and with a strong history of dyslexia in her father's side, I don't want to hinder her further.

Has anyone used the left handed children website before? and what sort of awareness is there is reception classes to the correct formation for left handed children.

Any advice or ideas would be gratefully received.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Guest

[Guest]

I'm a lefty but when I taught in mainstream I learnt how to form my letters with my right hand so I could teach the righties!

If you go to www.anything-lefthanded.co.uk they have stuff to help teaching lefties, I have a couple of their books that I used to photocopy useful pages from when parents asked for help!