SiL is trying to "correct" nephew's being left-handed

[BadLad]

Ever since he was a few months old, my in-laws have noticed and remarked with some concern that my youngest nephew reached for things with his left hand for the most part.

Now he is very nearly four, and they are actually telling him to stop and use his right hand when he eats, scribbles with a pencil or uses anything like scissors.

He loves eating, so he had always been (to my inexpert eyes) very good at feeding himself. He has graduated out of chopsticks with finger holes to normal child-chopsticks very young. But they make him hold them and his fork (when he isn't using a knife) in his right hand.

It doesn't seem to cause him much frustration, but AIBU to think this is wrong. I've asked why they are doing this, and SiL says it will be easier to get things for right-handed people in future. That seems a bit weak to me - plenty of people here are left-handed so they are catered for.

It just seems a bit hard on him to me.

I eat with fork in left hand, use rh scissors easily, do have a bit of hassle with carving if the knife is rh but nothing major. Strangely I'm more comfortable reversing into a space/parallel parking on the left than right but not sure if thats. My writing is great, have received lots of requests to write names in wedding invitations etc. In short life is not harder in any way for me being a leftie.
I would be concerned about upsetting the natural neuro dominance in a child, my friends Mum strongly maintains her sons childhood stammer (1970's) was caused by his teacher forcing him to change. After many trips to see the principal it was finally dropped and the stammer went away within a few weeks, could be a coincidence I suppose?

DisappointedOne
huge amount of superstition around left handed ness in Catholicism, yes. It symbolises the devil
Maybe in the 19th century but having gone to catholic schools in the 70's and 80's in a predominantly catholic country and an older brother who is a leftie too I can safely say that statement is incorrect. Superstition around left handedness (ita sinistra) in the West is largely a hangover from the Romans who predate Christianity.

I agree Sheba - I was also Catholic school educated in the 80s and 90s (including an almost Victorian convent) and came across no problems related to my left handed need.

Lefthandedness - sorry, stupid autocorrect!

The nuns did this to my left-handed Dad, even using a cane. Now he can barely write :(

I'm left handed. A bit of smudging learning to write (Because we used real ink pens). Otherwise I do everything the same as everyone else.

forcible changing can cause stammering and other problems. The parents need to get out of the superstition phase and read up on some simple science. And perhaps a little world history: George VI, maybe?

I have experienced one of life's annoyances for the left hander this pm: scissors on the packing table in IKEA chained to the bench on - you guessed it - the right hand side. It was fun cutting the paper while trying to avoid the chain!

The pens on chains in banks always get me. And credit card machines mounted and turned to the right.

And why oh why if someone asks me to sign something, and they see me turn the paper to enable me to do it, do they then put the next thing down in front of me angled straight? Use your fucking eyes!

(Was very lucky to work in an organisation of around 50 staff, more than half of whom were left handed. Was lovely being in the majority and being able to make right handed colleagues use left handed scissors etc.)

asksistermarymartha.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/little-left-handed-devils.html

*HotSquashedBun
To those saying showing a preference at a few months means there could be problems...what sort of problems exactly?

I didn't say so, but while I was having a look at Google scholar, it was suggested that it could be due to brain bleeds, some other kind of brain injury or lack of development on one side of the brain. It can be referred to as pathological left handedness. I don't know if the theory is still current or whether it has been invalidated by now.

left hander here. It's not as unusual as many think.

It doesn't incapacitate me at all. I write with my left hand, but everything else is as a right hander. I use a mouse with my right hand perfectly well, used to work on checkout in a supermarket and managed the keypad on that fine - just as fast as anyone else. I eat with fork in my left, knife in my right. Scissors are no issue.

It's sad though that some cultures still see it as being 'bad'. in reality 50% of people would use their left, 50% their right ?

Not necessarily, Iwant - if you read up on it, about 15% of people are naturally left-handed.
Although in one lab I worked in, we worked out it was nearer 30% of people who were left handed. Quite a high proportion!