Calling all left handers

[TheStakeIsNotThePower]

My boys are both lefties, age 12 and 7. One manages right handed stuff pretty well (was very late settling on a hand, is not true ambidextrous but close) but the other doesn't. Realised today I probably need to graduate from the left handed kids safety scissors!

What things really make a difference?

Scissors is the obvious one but what other things do I just take for granted as a right handed person?

Is anyone else left-footed?

Yes. I can’t kick a ball with my right foot to save my life. I’m also left eyed. But I’m right handed. Which basically means I’m terrible at sports 😩

My DH is a leftie but does a lot of things right handed. I do notice the odd thing he does really awkwardly but I can't bring anything to mind at the moment.
I think the biggest thing was when he was an apprentice, the guy he worked with was RH so he does a lot of work stuff either really awkwardly or just right handed as that's how he was taught

Never thought of myself left footed but just went upstairs and set off on left. Also can't kick with right for toffee but play tennis right handed but pool left handed.

Sport, for me. Everything being shown backwards. Batting in rounders and the ball being thrown to my right hand. Balls thrown to catch in my right. I’m no athlete, but this added to my hatred of sport. Currently trying really hard not to pass this on to my two leftie kids.

Writing, especially on whiteboards (not great for a teacher).

Scissors, knives, tin-openers, peelers, kettles and jugs.

Ticket barriers in stations.

I could go on.

Fountain pen - not sure this is still a thing but I had to use a fountain pen in years 3-6 and right handed nibs are awful

Scissors - hobbycraft do a decent pair here

Make sure teacher sit them on the correct side (left) of a desk. Particularly found year 7 a pain as many teachers had a seating plan that couldn't be changed.

Potato peeler (y-shaped I find work best)

Tin opener I managed fine with normal one but it's scary watching me open those tins of meat with the key

Kettle - get one that can swivel on its base otherwise it will be the wrong way around and therefore more dangerous. Teach them to swivel it before picking it up.

Demonstrate anything such as shoe tying in mirror image (or look for a YouTube video demonstrating it left handed.

I have a double sided veg peeler.

I drive everyone insane at work, moving their mouse across to "my" side when showing them how to do things (and then leaving it there).

I am not allowed to cut bread in my house because of the slant (and because I am rubbish at it, 2" slice, anyone?).

My nan taught me to knit sitting directly face on, therefore I now plain when I should be purling and vice versa.

Because of having to learn to cope in the world as a left hander, I can swap hands playing pool and table tennis, and can write passably with my right hand.

I love being "different".

Sorry, there were paragraphs when I wrote my post above!!

Not really a difficulty, more of a peeve.

I sign for a lot of deliveries at work and it really winds me up when the courier hands the pen to my right hand.

Agree re driving, so glad indicating and gears are on the left and we drive on the left too...

Oh, and shaking hands is a pain too!

Tin openers.

My Ds is a leftie . Plays the guitar right handed, can never decide whether to play left handed or right in cricket tennis ( this may be as he is equally bad with both)
He does use left handed scissors as his cutting while still not great is much better with left handed.

My dsis is a lefty and has a electric tin opener at home as she simply.cant open a tin otherwise.

You tube is your friend for teaching things left handed

I am fully left handed and left footed.

My biggest enjoyment has come from having a left handed sink! I don't have a dishwasher so having the draining board to the left of me makes life that little bit easier.

@TheHallouminati that's so true.

I automatically want to use my left hand when shaking someone's hand. It's like my brain has a split second reminder of "shake with the right, use your right hand". It's a daily occurrence yet I still have to be semi conscious of it.

In my house, we were all lefties except DD1. (Who, ironically, has grown up to be a Communist!)
I therefore have my entire kitchen set up left handed. The only neutral thing is the kettle, which has its water level gauge positioned centrally for use by left or right handers, but it sits on the worktop in left orientation.
Out of the house, I use a left handed bidding box when playing Bridge, and I move any portable credit card readers to the other (left) side of the cash desk to use them more comfortably.
As a medical student I remember being told off for examining patients from the “wrong” side, until the consultants realised I was left handed. And the surgeons were impressed I could cut sutures for them with my left hand when assisting in theatre (I didn’t let on!)
Being a left handed anaesthetist was great, as all anaesthetic machines are actually left handed.
The designer of the original machine (Boyle) was himself a leftie, who put the oxygen on the left!
I think the only thing I actually gave up on was trying to crochet. My MIL tried to show me right handed, but I didn’t manage to reverse it. I knit right handed, very slowly.
I’m sure your DC will be fine, OP. There are even websites selling left handed products nowadays, and they’ll learn to adapt where necessary.

Tin openers and scissors mainly.

I don't see the issue with either pencil sharpeners nor bread knives

Cheque books were a nightmare but I can't see that being an issue for people of your dc's age.

Hockey stick when I was at school was a real nightmare, but not something I engage with much in my adult life

The PPs about shaking the wrong hands has reminded me - I always go for the wrong cheek first, doing continental style kisses in greeting, and end up bumping heads with people!

Backforgood, we had specially ordered left handed hockey sticks at my school. How on earth did you play with a right handed one?

I think the majority of left handers are fundamentally fairily ambidextrous, only a small proportion are strongly left-handed, partly because of growing up in a right handed environment perhaps? There are a lot of handed activities that most lefties manage most of the time, the difficulties can be subtle hence us just thinking we're a bit uncoordinated - until suddenly something requires a change and you wonder why you are getting all tangled up. I used to realise that on the rare occsion I wanted to write something down while using a telephone box - first get your paper and pen out, then reverse the phone to the other hand ...

Not RTFT, but guitar hero has a lefty flip, if that helps?

Backforgood I just came on to say hockey sticks too! And those school chairs with a little table that folded over from the right. But I imagine nowadays there are left handed versions of both.

I'm a lefty who does most things right-handed. I play the cello and actually find it easy being left-handed, as that hand has greater dexterity on the fingerboard. My right hand fingers are stiff in comparison.

I do struggle with kitchen knives though, and spiral-bound notebooks - I usually start a new one from the back page!

@Babdoc I played county and we weren't allowed left sticks so had to use right (30 yrs ago).

Oh the other thing - about pens. A fountain pen needs to be at a fairly flat angle to write well, so it is possible to cultivate a hand shape that allows to you write with your hand below the writing. Biros mostly need to be very vertical to work well, which leaves no option but having your hand on top of your writing. I got less ink on my fingers using a foundtain pen than a biro!

Knives which have the blade on the wrong side, tin openers, veg peelers, rulers, scissors etc - although you do just adapt.
Spiral bound notebooks - I tends to use them backwards.
Everyone (RH) puts papers back in document wallets the wrong way round!
Pouring from saucepans.
Chip & pin machines are always on the wrong side, same as ticket reader things.
I will think of more, I'm sure!

Never understood the left handed instrument thing - as DP says, he plays the guitar with both hands, so why make life permanently more difficult and expensive by insisting on learning to play the 'other way round'?

(His handwriting, by the way, is lovely. Even if I have to hide my fineliners/technical pens so he doesn't use them and render them useless for me)