Is being left-handed a non-issue these days?

[Svanhildur]

Just wondering because DS looks like he's going to be left-handed. Thankfully we have moved past the days when this would be 'corrected' at all and I'm sure that in the grand scheme of things it is of very small significance. But I'm sure the world is designed for righties in a way that I don't always notice, being right-handed myself.

Those of you who are left-handed, does it cause any annoyances in your everyday lives or would you say that now the stigma is gone, that being left-handed is basically a non-issue?

ATMs are a pain in the ass to be perfectly honest, the card slot is on the right hand side.

And if I had a pound for every time some bugger says "Oh! You're left* handed!" I'd be quite rich.

• or cack-handed.

I’m left handed and it’s a non-issue. You can get a left handed pen if needed when he’s learning to write. I do remember struggling a bit with holding cutlery correctly and my mum getting very cross when trying to teach me to knit. But these are things that are awkward for all children - being left handed is just a twist on it.

I started out right handed btw - broke my arm aged 3 and switched

I'm left handed and 2 of my children are as well. No issues at all and no special equipment needed we just get on with it. Hold cutlery in the "right way" I do think some people are more left handed than others though.

I’m a leftie and so are some of my kids. Haven’t really had any issues.

Being left handed is still cool though!

I'm left handed and don't feel disadvantaged at all. When writing, I tilt the paper, which is no big deal and turn un cut bread around to slice but this is just normal for me. I'm able to use normal tin openers etc - I gather there are utensils for left handed people but I've never had them.
I did learn to eat right handed though, which is easier in restaurants.

door handles are on the wrong side, as are ticket readers at automatic barriers. Revolving door go round the wrong way and scissors are useless. When you have to write in ink at school, everything gets smudged.
On the other hand (see what I did there?), he's more likely to become a political leader.

It’s definitely a non issue now. In fact, it’s never really been an issue for me and I’m old.

I use right handed scissors, use cutlery the right way and knit and crochet right handed. I sew left handed though. I e got an Apple Watch, which is great because you can switch the buttons to use left handed.

Creative people are said to be left handed and I think it’s cool too.

I sometimes find minor things that annoy me (most recently not being able to see the markings on my measuring jug when holding it my left hand) but in the grand scheme of things it's a non issue.

I've never had an issue with scissors unless they're the ones with the moulded handles.

It just damn cool to be left handed.

No real barriers at all, no stigma, and its rubbish that it's harder to push a pen than pull it (which is probably pretty irrelevant in the keyboard age).

It's sometimes harder for a parent to help with a few practical things like tying shoelaces or writing - but that's about it.

Me and my ds are lefties. I find being in a right hand world much easier than he does. I can switch hands. He is very left handed. He still as an adult can only use left handed scissors. See how ds goes and provide what he needs.

MY DS is LH and is learning guitar, makes it difficult to teach when teacher is right handed! same goes with knitting. He also gets frustrated when he smudges his writing as his hand moves over his work

Assuming you are in the U.K. and nothing changes with the royal family, your son is likely to grow up under a king (William) who is left handed.

No issues for 50+ years until I broke my left arm a few weeks ago. So difficult only being able to use my right hand!

I'm left handed and generally it doesn't make difference. I really wouldn't worry about him, honestly he will be absolutely fine.

You learn from a really early age (so it becomes completely natural)to compromise if needed and you learn to use your right hand for things that you can't use your left for like scissors! Etc

There are tiny things that are sometimes annoying like kettles and measuring jugs not having the writing on the right side or oven gloves having the thumb on the wrong side or not using certain pens to write because your hand can spread the ink if it doesn't dry quick enough.

Some children have small issues when learning things because they do it backwards so letters being written backwards or issues learning to tie laces and ties, cutlery (especially if a right-handed person shows them because they start with the "wrong" hand) but that corrects itself quickly once they learn a way round it for themselves.

Some left handlers have little quirks like reading papers and magazines from the back page to the front etc (something to do with how the brain works apparently)

most of the time you just don't think about it or you just use the other hand because you've grown up knowing you need both.

I struggle with tin openers, and measuring jugs and mugs etc often have the pictures on the ‘wrong’ side.

I’m 58 and left handed. The problems I did have no longer exist such as teachers taking the pen out my hand and putting it in my right. I found it difficult to follow sewing, knitting tutorials but now YouTube is full of left handed versions. There are a few minor annoyances with pen smudging but as computers are much more common and left handed pens etc, they aren’t the problem they were when everythIng was handwritten in ink . Learning an instrument wasn’t an issue for me but it can be for some people. I learned the violin right handed without being discombobulated.

It's more of an issue than righties realise.

Smudging ink all over your work. Crashing elbows with the person sat next to you. Eating differently. Washing up at a right handed sink is hard work.

Lefties are statically more likely to die younger as you are battling against a right handed world and eventually one of your hilarious clumsy mistakes becomes the death of you.

I'm a leftie and proud of it! Just makes us a bit different!
I used to struggle when I used to write cheques to pay bills as the stub got in the way but it's not an issue these days. Apart from using the tin opener I can't think of anything I struggle with to be honest.

My 68 year old Mother, my 42 year old ex and my 13 year old son are left handed. All say they manage just fine day to day. My mother and ex said that smudging their ink when using fountain pens at school was an issue, but they don't do that now so it hasn't affected DS at all. I have some left handed scissors somewhere in the house and bought some left handed pens a while ago - but DS doesn't bother with these at all.

I suspect all three have just adapted and become pretty ambidextrous for a lot of things, without thinking about it much. Interested to see if others are the same.

The only issue my dd has is with spiral bound notebooks. She'll turn them upsidedown to compensate. No messy ink hand, no problems with sitting next to people - she just asks to swap if they are bumping elbows.

My brother was forced to write with his right hand as a child, and that was only 30-odd years ago. The teacher made him sit on his left hand. Absolutely shocking! My DM didn't find out until it was too late.

Oh, my ex found learning to drive a manual car much, much easier than I did. The gear stick was so easy for him whereas I found it hard to do left handed. So it could be an advantage when driving in the UK!

Yes to most of what everyone else has said too.

I was going to add knitting and doors etc but thought I'd sound like a massive moan

Honestly most things are fine.
Also my feeling is the world is set up for right handedness so although you can get tools for left handed people they are normally more expensive to buy and if you rely on them and don't learn to use right handed scissors, tin openers and a thousand other things you may struggle when they aren't available (most places!)

My son finds copying work hard as he is always covering the work as he writes and he writes some of the back to front because of where he starts them. Just means that it will take longer to get to standard with writing.

DD is left handed and none of the rest of the family are.
I wouldn't say it's been an issue as such, but it's not quite been a non-issue either.
Things that jump to mind

• banging elbows if she sits next to a right hander on a not quite big enough table
• the look,cover, write spelling sheets that lots of schools do are really hard if you are left handed (some hand contortion required)
• some letters are not formed "the right handed way" - luckily DD had a left handed teacher in Reception who was on top of this
• she can't use right handed scissors at all and although left handed ones are generally available, they are not always
• playing an instrument it trickier due to position of non-dominant hand
• smudging ink when she writes (she has learnt to angle the paper)
• our kitchen is set up for a right handed person; I didn't realise until I saw her cooking dinner how many things she had to turn around/were very awkward for her
• using a mouse was initially tricky but now she can use it with either hand

... I'm sure there more (but that's probably enough!)