Tip for parents on dealing with left-handed children
By SUPAWADEE INTHAWONG
Parents usually discover the hand orientation of their children when they are around two years old, as at this age children begin to use their hands more in everyday activities such as holding utensils, throwing balls, writing and drawing with pencils or crayons.
Children at this age, however, may use both hands and switch one to the other to experiment and discover which hand they are more comfortable with, causing their parents worry when they are not certain their children are left- or right-handed.
Concerns
Fifteen to 17 per cent of left-handed children have a left-handed father or mother.
Jack is left-handed and has a two-year-old daughter. He began observing his daughter's hand orientation when she was 11/2 years old. He feared his daughter, too would be left-handed and would face certain obstacles, like he did.
"I have been left-handed since I was a child. I still write with my left hand but I have learned to use my right hand to use cutlery since school days. I often nudged my friends with my left hand when we were eating next to each other in the school cafeteria, so I trained myself to use my right hand to eat and do other activities such as playing the guitar and violin. But I could not force myself to use the right hand to write, which is problematic as my left hand tends to press on the script and becomes dirty. So, I have to place the notebook diagonally with some space to put my hand. I don't want my daughter to go through these troubles like I had to. I told her to use her right hand. I didn't force her though. I think she is young enough to be trained," said Jack.
Jacks understanding of hand orientation, however, may not be entirely correct.
Medical findings have shown that a child's hand orientation is pre-determined and is related to the functioning structure of the brain, not the rearing or training.
Negative consequences of forcing hand orientation
Parents should wait until their children are at least three years old before they conclude whether their children are left- or right-handed.
Children younger than three years old tend to use both hands in order to learn and train their muscles. While they are in this process, parents should not force their children to use or restrain from the use of one hand as it would negatively effect other developments of the children.
The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for left-handedness, and vice-versa. If a left-handed child is forced to use his right hand, he would also be forced to use his left brain hemisphere, which is already working on the development of language skills.
It is often found that such left-handed children have speech problems, such as stuttering or slurring as their left brain hemisphere is forced to concentrate on hand orientation instead of language development.
The parents should, however, facilitate their children to use whatever hand they favour, and take precautions in case of potential accidents. Most toys are designed for right-handed children, because left-handed people account for only 10 to 15 per cent of the population.
However, when the children are between one and 21/2 years old and are practicing the use of right and left hands, parents should encourage them to use both hands. This may result in a higher chance of left-handed children being able to do tasks with their right hands as well.
Left-handed children at schools
Left-handed children must also be taught how to cope with problems arising from equipment and stationary designed for right-handed children. Parents should inform the teachers so that they could tables in the classroom can be properly arranged.
Tables of left-handed children should be on the left end of the row, so that their elbows will not run into their friends when writing.
Left-handed children tend to have trouble writing. Parents and teachers should help them and suggest various techniques to deal with the situation, such as teaching the children to place their left hand under the writing line so that their hands are ink-free and do not block the view of their writing.
They should learn not to hold the pencil or pen too low, so that they can view their own writing and can place their notebook at an angle that helps them write conveniently.
Famous left-handed people
The right hemisphere, which is responsible for left-handedness, also controls various creativity-related skills including arts, music and the imagination. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ludwig van Beethoven, Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Bobby Fisher, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney.
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