Why cant the school accept hes left handed?

[RBBMummy]

My son has been a lefty since he was 2. Ive never encouraged either handedness, just let him do his thing. but from 2 hes been prominently left. He was 3 when he started at this preschool and i told them he was a lefty going in. They cant seem to except this. For a while it was things like giving him right handed scissors and putting pencils in his right hand.

Now its got even weirder. They wrote several reports recently where they specifically state he was using his right hand for things but the attached pictures show him clearly using his left. Why cant they just accept hes a lefty? I dont get it.

They risk serious psychological damage if they push this agenda. I’d be squashing it now.

Were they trained in the 1930s or something? Idiots.

My great aunt was naturally left handed but in 1910s when she was younger she was forced to use her right

She was able use both hands but it still upset her as an elderly lady

They just do not want to pay extra for left handed scissors etc or to alter seating areas to make it easier to have left and right next to each other but not knocking elbows iyswim

They're either not paying any attention when they write the report or they're shite.

My son is 3 and left handed, he will hold a pencil with his right occasionally but he's 3, if he thought he could draw by shoving it up his nose he'd give it a go.

I have a family member of retirement age who was forced to write with their right hand and it has caused life long issues. I can't believe it's still a thing.

I was disapproved of because I was left handed (in 1984), so taught myself to write with my right hand. I then didn't qualify for the 'left-handers writing improvement classes' the next year, despite my writing being untidy because I was writing with my opposite hand from my natural hand and was, in fact, left handed.

For years afterwards I would turn taps the wrong way, cycle around roundabouts the wrong way, open things when I tried to close them, etc. I have no sense of direction, and used to have to have a map physically on my lap in the same orientation as the road I was traveling on, because I couldn't visualise left or right on the paper to the road. I also find it really hard to visualise a schematic to the object it represents, yet I can follow written instructions very quickly indeed. It's the orientation of a schematic that I can't follow through in my mind, and I'm convinced that's because I switched my brain when I was 5, from left handed to right, and I muddled it.

I have tried confronting them about it a couple times but they just bush it off as nothing. Saying their left handed scissors are broken or they were just trying to show him how to hold a pencil properly, or the last time they said how do you know hes not ambidextrous? like it was my fault hes a lefty or something?

In Y6 at primary school (early 2000s), we were learning about the Victorian's and I was made to write with my right hand for the full week, although it was normal for that period, I don't think it was necessary for me to have to do it

Me too. Will never forget how awkward that felt (1980s). They tried to change my dad’s handedness in the 1950s but failed.

I was gutted when DD turned out to be a righty.

Is it a private school?

Either way I'd buy him a pair of scissors to keep in his school bag. And tell the teacher to leave him to it.

Is it a young teacher who hasn't figured out lefties either hook their hand around or turn the book to a 45deg angle if they are taught properly?

Move him now, they will cause untold damage.

Complain to whoever oversees their setup, this is dreadful.

I remember reading about milestones in development and the ‘your child may show a preference for using one hand’ on the list came way later than either of my DDs showed a preference. If the preschool staff have read this, they may mistakenly believe that your DS is only emerging as a lefties rather than being a confirmed one. It’s still shit though.

My DS is left-handed too, and I would be very unhappy about this. It sounds very odd. What sort of school is it? Standard nursery? Old-fashioned pre-prep?

its just a regular nursery/preschool and ive had quite a few problems with them but im just trying to ride out the rest of the year before he starts infants school. I just dong get why out of all things his left handedness is an issue

It’s bloody bad behaviour of the nursery school. If you can I would move him.

If they have sent you photographic evidence of his left handedness but labelled it as right handedness, I'd be sending it back to them with a pointed letter, saying that as you keep pointing out, ds is left handed, as shown in the photo attached that they sent out originally. And that will they please treat him as left handed, can they confirm that they have suitable left handed scissors, pens, etc etc for him to use, that they told you when you asked for this previously that the left handed scissors were broken but as that was xx months ago you are sure that they will now have had plenty of time to order new ones. And that as they are aware, it can be very damaging for young children that show an early marked preference for left handedness to be forced to use their right hand instead of their left hand in these crucial early developmental times and that you are very upset, that despite having asked on several occasions, your son is still being badly failed by the staff in this matter.

If you have the photos and a written report and feel they are ignoring you I'd be tempted to take it up with the nursery watchdog - who I can't remember the name off.