Anyone got children who are left handed or left handed themselves?

[MUM2BLESS]

I have four kids. Two right handed and two left handed.

I found it really fascinating when I realised two were left handed. I noticed today that there is a left handed club you can join.

I know it seems a bit tricky to write with your left hand without smudging, any tips please

What left handed equipment would you recommend?

As a righted person I appreciate any ideas and suggestions.

I'm left handed as is DD. have never bought anything left handed for me but will definitely buy her some scissors when the time comes !
Paper at an angle and writing with roller ball or gel pens works best for me.

DD4 is left handed, it was noticeable from an early age much before her right handed sisters. Both me and dp are right handed but both our dads are lefties. I haven't even thought about special equipment yet, at preschool she uses any scissors and pencils or crayons. Perhaps when she starts school next September I'll have to buy some different bits for her.

Both myslef and my DS are left handed. We both use normal scissors and everything else. We just turn our papers 45 degrees to write down the page, instead of across it.

Both DH and I are left handed and to our great disappointment, both DC are right handed.
I write, eat and sew left handedly.
I play sport knit and use scissors in my right hand.
I peel carrots with my right hand then swap to my left to chop.

I'm a bit weird

I am a leftie, as is DH. I shall be interested to see which hand DD favours. I actually don't do anything different from righties that I know of - I don't use LH scissors (can't, actually, as I learnt to cut with RH ones) and I don't use a special pen/hold my paper at a particular angle - although as a teacher I do teach children to angle the page differently. The only things I find particularly annoying are cheque books (on the rare occasions I use them) and rulers. The only thing I actively do differently is address postcards before writing them!

DS (10) is left handed, although perhaps ambidextrous would be a better term as he writes with left hand, but uses scissors etc with right one. Never even thought to buy him special equipment

You can get left handed cheque books! Just ask your bank :)

vicar i have never met anyone else that moves the paper round! i turn it from portrait to landscape, but write down it so that when it is portrait way up it looks normal.

I have not got any lefty things, but one thing that drives me mad is the spine on binders- you always have to leave a gap!

I am left handed and never had any special equipment. I also turn my paper slightly when writing.

I can only think of two inconvenient things. Firstly, whenever you have to sign something they always pass it to you as though you were right handed and you have to turn it (signing for a parcel or giving your details when returning something in a shop). Secondly, eating pudding with a spoon and fork. Just not possible for me

5madthings - I didn't know you were both lefties. None of my three are - perhaps that's where I've gone wrong. Should have had another couple to improve my chances!

Wow what an amazing response. Thank you everyone.

I will let my daughter see this.

Year ago I know L H people were not treated as they should be. Thank God times have moved on.

I'm left handed and DS is also left handed - when we found out, FIL said to me "did you do that on purpose?"! I still get the odd wrinkle-nosed "oh, I didn't know you're left-handed!" comment now and then, anyone else?
I really like being a leftie. I've always turned the page to avoid smudging too. DD and DH are both right-handed and I have much better handwriting than DH
I play guitar right-handed but that's it, everything else is left!

Oh I have my cutlery the "normal" way too - some people swap my fork and knife for me on hearing I'm left handed but I find it much easier eating with fork in left hand. In fact I've often wondered how right-handed people manage with fork in left - I would definitely struggle the other way around!

My 5yo ds is a leftie. Left-handed scissors are essential. I also got him pencil grips - little rubber things that slide on to your pencil and you rest your fingers/thumbs in the right place - help to improve pencil grip. Get him to turn his paper to the side too when writing, not try to have it at 90 degrees to the edge of the table. That way he doesn't smudge what he's writing. He doesn;'t have any other special equipment.

Me and DH are both RH as is our DS. DH's identical twin DD's, one is RH, the younger is LH. It's the only non-identical thing about them We have always had left handed scissors in the house for her, but that's about it.

But the weird thing is they both eat the wrong way around. The RH twin eats with fork in RH, knife in LH and the LH twin with fork in LH, knife in RH. They don't get the using the knife in your strongest hand thing. But I think it's a family trait as DH eats as if he is LH when he is RH.

Depending on the age.

To open a bottle of wine, put the corkscrew in the top and then turn the bottle and hold the corkscrew still.

What age is a reliable age to know if DC in right or left handed?

DS is 2.8 years old and mainly uses left hand - when colouring, using his fork and when throwing a ball. He also kicks with his left foot. I have seen him use his right hand sometimes, but mainly left.

Both DH & I are right handed.

Do you think DS could change, or is this all really a sign he's left handed.

I don't mind either way, but I'm curious!

Well, I knew very early. I remember looking at my son pick up his cake with his left hand (at his first birthday). then when he'd finished he picked up the bowl with his left hand and licked it, pointed at the rest of the cake with his left hand.. I knew, but people told me it was too early to know!

Needles: I was convinced that yr4DS was RH until he was 3.5yo, he didn't settle on which hand to write with (Left) until... middle or end of yr1? I am 99% sure DS-reception will be LH, but occasionally he does something comfortably with his right.

As a leftie, I'm noticing more things are for right-handed people as I get older. Cash points for instance, have the card slots on the right which is more awkward for lefties to reach.
Its only lately when I'm looking for it that I'm noticing it.
In college, those desks with the table attached were always designed for right-handed users.
I could never use a fountain pen.
I've got a left-handed kitchen scissors which my DH finds occassionaly and has wanted to chuck because "it doesn't work properly". Most kitchen utensils "don't work properly" for me, leave me with my bloody scissors!

Ds and dp both left handed.

I am left handed for writing, but predominantly right handed. I always turn the paper when writing - never had any issues. Have never needed any left handed equipment, although my step sisters is 'properley' left handed and found the scissors a godsend!

DS1 is LH and DS2 is RH - no other lefties in the family. It only occurred to me last year to ask DS1's teacher if they had equipment for him, and he'd been at school for two years by then

He eats like a RH though

Great response everyone

Another thing (very small but still a bit annoying) is that mugs are always designed so that the person drinking from it only has the picture facing them if they are right handed!

I have a left handed one. It was from here
I have had a cheque book for left handers for at least 20 yrs (not that there is much use for it these days).
I am left handed, have one left hander, and 2 right handers and one of those is left footed.

The main problem for left handed DCs are right handed parents who tell them they are 'awkward' and then they trot it out, so that if you say they are messy they say 'I am left handed' they are then very confused when I wait for the rest and when it doesn't come say 'and..........' , they have no answer they are just so used to the parent saying it.
It isn't a handicap.