Parents of left handed kids or experts

[Spoo]

My DS1 is 3 1/2 and obviously left handed. Neither my DH or I are. DS is generally quite clumsy and not very confident when drawing or writing and often asks me to colour in for him. He still holds his pencil in a grip like fashion and is starting to develop a hook like hold over the top of the page. According to a self help 'my child is left handed' book, I am trying to gently encourage him to hold his pencil in a normal way with his left hand but he complains that it hurts. Should I continue with this? He also struggles with all small actions that require micro dexterity.

Has anyone else got any words of advice on how I can make his life easier please? Should I leave him to it? Should I keep trying to encourage him to hold his pencil correctly. Any success stories would be greatly appreciated.

our preschool makes the kids stick clothes pegs on the outside of a plastic bowl - apparently this helps with grip/dexterity

Bit bizarre but worth a try

the hook is quite normal I would say - I'm a leftie and have a hook. It's easier to see what I've written and is quite uncomfortable to write in what you are calling a 'normal' way. NOrmal for who?!

I wouldn't force him or encourage to hold his pen/pencil in any special hold right now (he's only little still!)

When he gets older or even now he might find left handed scissors a bit easier when cutting. I love (or used to) my left handed ruler ( zero was on right hand side) but gadgets are just a bit of a gimmic I think.

I don't mean stick with glue but just pegging (hope you can understand my ramble)

DD1 is 11 now and still does the hook thing. We call her cacky handed - ONLY AS A JOKE before anyone gets offended! She manages very well and has very neat handwriting though...

yep, loads of clothes pegs for fine motor skills, also threading beads etc. you can get lacing cards (animals, shoes) as well, and all the general clothes issues - poppers/zips for finger strength.

dd1 has all sorts of motor skills issues, and we have to do all those kinds of things with her.

have you thought about signing at all? as that really gets hands working properly, and coordination too.

there are those thin plasticine sticks you used to get for children in cafes too - hang on a sec, will google

Thanks Hana. Sorry about describing the grip as 'normal' not sure how else to explain. This book states that a hook grip can give the child problems writing quickly later in life and if developed properly the 'normal' grip can ease problems. If below the line enough it should not impinge being able to see what is being written. I haven't been forcing him, just gentle encouragement. I have read about the lefty rulers and it make perfect sense to me.

I love the fact he is a lefty - they are meant to be cleverer and more creative. It makes him who he is. I have been saying for a long time he is lefty but his old nursery kept saying that he might change. I really don't think he will.

both my dc are left handed, I just left them to it at that age but they seem fine with pencil holding etc now - although tbh I don't remember them obviously struggling... Early days for him imo!

ah, wikki stix, that's what I was thinking of

dd1 is a leftie

she was totally ambidextrous until she was about 4 and then preferences showed.

she writes, cuts and eats left handedly

she doesn;t have a 'hook' but I didn't have any choice over that she just didn;t
I wouold say leave him to it

i am a leftie and write 'normally' but its a pain if using certain pens cos your hand smudge what u have written. i would just let him do it his own way

i also write left handed,not with a hook, never been a problem for me apart from scruffy writing, till I fractured my elbow.generally though, cutting pictures out of magazines helps a lot with dexterity when learning to hold a pen properly.

dd is now showing to be a left hander, she is 4. She was swapping hands a lot, still does sometimes, and didn't really draw or 'write' much until very recently. I watched her draw an octopus a while ago. She drew the circle with her right hand and the tenticles with her left!! We just left her to it and she has worked it out herself. Se is definately left handed now. I haven't noticed a hook, but she does struggle to copy us when she ask to be shown how to write her name etc.

My dad and sister are leftys and i'm keen for them to help her with writing! It's very hard to use the other hand!!

I am of the leave em to it school of helping. If they want help then i help but other than that I just let them carry on

Asw a lefty my primary headmaster showed me to till my paper to the right and my chair to the left when writing, much much easier have done so ever since

a lefty i know turns the paper sideways (ie portrait becomes landscape) & writes downwards. it looks awkward but works for him

Thanks everyone for words of help and encouragement. I've never seen those wiki stix before but might try them they look good. Thanks for that.

I think I'll leave him to it a bit longer and see what happens.

We left our left handed ds to do his own thing. He is 21 now and I don't remember ever having to do things differently with him. He did have problems with scissors but mastered it himself.

As for problems later with writing - he has a hooked way of holding his pen and it's not held him back in any way. He has to write copious notes at speed at university. His writing is quite neat if a bit small sometimes.

my ds is left handed heres a link to a website I came across

handedness.org/action/leftwrite.html

hth

I'm a leftie and hold my pen in a hook grip. Sorry to buck the trend, but I would suggest continuing to gently encourage a "normal" pencil hold. I find the way I hold my pen causes me to smear my writing (particularly if it's hot) and I was always being told off for messy work at school. My writing has always been terrible, but don't know if it's anything to do with that though.

I'm a pusher not a hooker but I smear my writing too. So not really sure that the nature of the grip makes a difference.

My main tip: don't sit to the right of a right-hander in a Chinese restaurant. You will tangle your chopsticks.

oh yes, the yoropen is quite good (have lost mine, must get another...)

I use these people for left handed gadgets should you want to try any out, and have always found them very helpful (the shop in London is tiny, but very well stocked)

My ds has said he mostly avoids specialised lh stuff as rh stuff is more easily available and if he got used to using just the lh things then he might have problems if he was somewhere that they weren't available.

That is very true, juuule. I stay away from special lh stuff, and even have my mouse on the right to avoid the awkwardness of having to adjust from a left-hand mouse at other people's workstations.