Any tips for left handed DC?

[Homely1]

I'd be grateful if anyone could impart any tips for me with DC, who is 3. I encourage DC to use the hand which is comfortable and it is the left. Is there anything I should know re lefties (I am right handed) WG helping DC write. Will DC do things which I would think are back to front? Would be good to know do that I make things as easy as possible for DC! Thank you!

[TheWoollybacksWife]

DD2 is left handed. I asked each of her teachers in primary school to make sure she sat on the left hand side of the table (if she sat on the right hand side she bumped hands with her right handed classmate)

Apart from that she didn't need any special equipment - the school had left handed scissors but she cuts right handed

[starry0ne]

My Ds is a leftie...

We have left handed scissors at home.. Some things the do right handed ..Some left..My DS (8) plays gold left handed , cricket seems to swap, guitar right handed.. My DS also leftie cannot open a tin for the life of her..Has an electric can opener..

You will find out in time what your DC does left and right handed...You tube is also useful..I taught knitting with the help of you tube..Chopsticks I failed at

[RueDeWakening]

DS2 who is nearly 3 seems to be a leftie, too. We have some left handed scissors for him, but nothing else yet so I'm watching with interest.

One thing I sometimes do with left handed Rainbows if I'm showing them how to do something is sit opposite, so when I move my right hand, they move their left. We did chopsticks that way, after a fashion!

[Sallyhasleftthebuilding]

Keep him away from the can opener!

You can buy books for left hand writing -

There is a left handed day in August

Pen grip is the biggest issue - get this right - rather than a fist action or writing above the words -

Buy non smudge pens or left handed pen grip pen - it helps WH Smiths do them

Avoid teaching him to knit!!

[CrumblyMumbly]

I bought my dd a left handed pencil sharpener as she kept breaking all the right handed ones!

[Sallyhasleftthebuilding]

Also - left handed or all corner playing cards - makes sense really!!

DD now 13 does at the vacuum is right handed as is the duster -

[redskytonight]

When writing it helps to angle the paper. Also bear in mind that the way a right hander would form letters is not always the most natural way for a left handed person (you can google for left handed letter formation).

Make sure your child knows to ask for left handed scissors (though I think they tend to get that drummed into them!).

DD plays the violin righthanded without any apparent bother (though I might have suggested she picked a different instrument if I'd thought about it in advance!)

The biggest bug bear for us was the "look cover write check" sheets that some schools use to practice spellings. We ended up cutting them into pieces as it's very unnatural for the child to cover with their right hand and then write over it with their left.

[ilove]

//anythinglefthanded.co.uk

[Starman16]

Chuckling at this post as my DH and I are both left handed and our 4 1/2 month old is already seems far more dexterous with his right-hand so we're freaking out a bit

Agree with always sitting on the left if you're at a double desk, I turn my paper almost to a right angle when writing and was forever elbowing my neighbour if forced to sit the wrong side.

Ring bound notebooks/sketchbooks are a total pain for left handed people.

A lot of kitchen things as I got older I realised do not really work for left-handlers - traditional tin openers, vegetable peelers, spatulas with a curved bit on one side only...so it just requires a bit of thought when he starts learning stuff like that. My mum just thought I was crap at peeling veg then I used a safety peeler at school one day and realised it was so much easier!

That would be my biggest tip actually...when DC is learning a new skill and isn't picking it up or seems a bit awkward just stop and think if it could be to do with handedness, it's really not always obvious but often a small change can really help

(That and never make DC try and play hockey...worst PE lessons of my life!!)

[Arkwright]

I bought my Dd some left handed scissors but she preferred the right handed ones. Apart from that we have done nothing else. She has beautiful writing.

[runningouttaideas]

Have DC sit on the left of the desk.Tilt the paper so that the top right hand corner is aiming down (righties usually put the top left hand corner down).Position the hand so it's slightly lower than the line they are writing on rather than on it. This should help your DC to see what has been written and reduce any smudging. Dd always tried to write in her homework folder and the rings got in the way, just suggested she took the paper out and she has done it ever since. Spellings using cover,look,write and check we swapped the spellings to the right of the page instead of the left. Stabilo do pens and pencils for lefties with a moulded grip.

[runningouttaideas]

I mean LOOK, COVER

[Kennington]

I am a leftie - don't make a fuss about neat handwriting - it took me years and everyone was doing it opposite to me.
Otherwise they will be fine if a bit gauche!

[catslife]

Chuckling at this post as my DH and I are both left handed and our 4 1/2 month old is already seems far more dexterous with his right-hand so we're freaking out a bit

That's not impossible starman my DB and his wife who are both left handed have 4 right handed dcs.

[suitcaseofdreams]

I have one left and one right handed twin. Not done anything specific to support left hander (although school may have done) and yet his writing is much neater than his brothers 😄

[Starman16]

Yes catslife handedness doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason to it!

[SomethingOnce]

Most scissors you will use are not left-handed scissors. Learn to love right-handed scissors.

Also, look in the drawer on the other side of the hob. The utensil you're looking for is probably in there.

[howabout]

Dd2 will never master rh scissors!
She trys to open doors from the wrong side.
Learn about lefty loosey and righty righty. I am ambidextrous and wish I had known this for everything from jam jars to screws.
Spiral bound notebooks are no good as they collide with writing hands.
PE can be difficult as coaches teach for right handed side first. If the DC is aware of this it will be less off putting.

[SomethingOnce]

Yes, learning new skills in PE on the less competent side is a bit dispiriting unless you're prepared for it.

On the plus side, it's actually quite beneficial to work your non-dominant side first if you want to even up your physical strength.

[mammmamia]

Interesting. I have twins who have just turned six. They are both lefties and I have honestly hardly thought about it
DH, FIL and SIL are all lefties so I suppose I thought DH would pipe up with any special requirements!

[Sallyhasleftthebuilding]

Have you tried teaching them to tie shoe laces yet?

[Ughnotagain]

I'm left handed. The only thing I've ever struggled with is a tin opener.

Just don't give him a fountain pen. That way lies disaster

[Helenluvsrob]

I'm a leftie as is my eldest.

Best advice I can give is, apart from sitting on the left of a desk is don't worry! We do work our own way round things. It's right handed world and that won't change !

For instance I use scissors in my right hand and move the object I'm cutting for fine work. I do have left handed fabric scissors for cutting out big sewing stuff though.

A left handed ruler for maths would have been a lovely thing though

[ShrimpieFlintshire]

I'm a leftie, as is DS. As some PPs have said, best thing is not to fuss but to let a left handed child figure out the best way of doing individual tasks. For some things they will manage fine doing it the right handed way, and for other things it will be impossible.

Pen grip is tough, a lot of LH children will need a moulded grip, and avoid inky pens.

Get used to using right handed scissors and using computer mouse with right hand!

[ShelaghTurner]

DD1 is left handed. I started out buying her left handed scissors etc but she's in year 3 now and I never think of it any more. I bought her a left handed pen this year but she hated it. Other than that she never mentions any issues.