Recommend scissors for a lefty K child?

[ExcitedMama]

I bought these for DS when I think he was like 4:

http://smile.amazon.com/Fiskars-Inch-Left-handed-Pointed-tip-Scissors/dp/B0020MLI4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437692724&sr=8-1&keywords=left+hand+scissors

 

Today he was cutting and couldn't seem to cut as close as he wanted and I couldn't with his scissors when I tried either. I'm thinking he needs another sharper pair but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be another lefty version that's sharper. I've read different reviews that say you must buy a lefty pair and ones that say it doesn't matter. Any recommendations? Thanks!

[Arcadia]

The 8" left handed ones are sharper but heavy for a 5 year old.  I have to change my kids scissors every year though because they get blunt.  My hubby was joking about using the knife sharpener on those scissors.

[shawthorne44]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0020MLI4S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

Fiskars 5 Inch Left-handed Pointed-tip Kids Scissors

 

I really like these for DD.  The paper doesn't bend because the blade on top is switched too.  DD thought she was incompetent before these because I had to hold the paper.  In fact, I think need to buy another pair.  

[Tanaqui]

If he holds scissors in his left hand to cut, it does matter because lefty scissors are jointed "backwards" from righty scissors. Try using his in your right hand, you'll see what I mean! Just draw a line on a piece of paper and attempt to cut along it.

 

You can sharpen scissors by cutting through a many-times-folded piece of aluminum foil nine or ten times, or by cutting three or four strips of 200 grit sandpaper, or, yes, by using a whetstone.

 

Additionally, sometimes "dull" scissors are less dull than loose, and can be repaired by tightening the screw joining the two blades together.

[momof4babes]

My leftie 3.5 year old loves cutting stuff up, though she is not following any lines at this point.

 

Would left handed scissors make a big difference for her?

[Tanaqui]

Yes, they would. In addition to the cutting line being visible rather than hidden by the blade, as it is when you try to use righty scissors in your left hand, the "backwards" jointing means you can use a more natural hand motion to cut.

 

It is true that some lefties, when grown, dislike lefty scissors. This is usually because they have developed habits to allow themselves to cut with righty scissors that are seriously maladaptive with the proper tool. Better not to even let it get that far, if you ask me.

 

I really advise everybody here with a lefty kid to get themselves a pair of lefty scissors. They're not that pricey, and then you can all do the test I advised above - try cutting something with them in your right hand! It'll be eye-opening.

 

Edit: Of course, handedness is more complex than most people realize, and it's certainly not unusual for somebody to use one hand for some tasks and the other for other tasks. I, for example, exclusively pick my nose with my right hand! If your left-handed child usually uses their right hand to cut, there's no point to worrying about it.

[sweetpea3829]

Is there anything wrong with specifically encouraging a lefty to learn to use right-hand scissors?  Because we have one lefty in the house (much to our surprise) and I have encouraged him to learn how to cut with his right hand.  He doesn't seem any worse for the wear.  

[scoutingmom]

From advise I got I gently guided my 2 lefties to cut right handed.....

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[Tanaqui]

Not all lefties are going to be able to do it, that's all. You wouldn't encourage your righty to use their left hand to cut. This is something that's easily remedied with just the proper tools.

 

Additionally, unless you have more than one lefty in the family, lefty scissors do not get stolen by other members of the household. Lefty can openers are never found in odd corners where you don't know why anybody would be opening a can there anyway. Lefty pencil sharpeners do not end up in other people's backpacks.

 

Lefty tools are like an insurance policy against right-handed thievery. (They do nothing to help against left-handed thievery, alas, but at least you can narrow down the culprits some.)

[fairfarmhand]

 

 

Lefty tools are like an insurance policy against right-handed thievery. (They do nothing to help against left-handed thievery, alas, but at least you can narrow down the culprits some.)

 

I like this approach.

 

I am lefthanded and I've never had any special tools. I've learned to adapt with scissors, can openers, and all kinds of stuff. (except for a ball glove. I can catch either way but only can throw lefthanded)

 

Here's an oddity.

 

When I'm on my desktop computer, I mouse with my right hand because that's where it's set up.

 

But on my laptop with the touchpad, I mouse with my left hand.\

 

Weird I know.

[Tanaqui]

I am lefthanded and I've never had any special tools. I've learned to adapt with scissors, can openers, and all kinds of stuff. (except for a ball glove. I can catch either way but only can throw lefthanded)

 

And there's a wide variety here. The only thing I can use right-handed is the can opener - and it took me literally decades of opening cans to not only be able to open them with my right hand but also to *remember* to use my right hand. I can't even use pencil sharpeners if they're not left-oriented. (I loathe pencils, anyway, and tend to sharpen pencils with a knife if I *must* use one, but that's beside the point.)

 

When I'm on my desktop computer, I mouse with my right hand because that's where it's set up.

 

But on my laptop with the touchpad, I mouse with my left hand.

 

I am the exact same way! Twinsies!

 

[SoCal_Bear]

Have you ever heard of this store? My Bay Area friends with kids that are lefties love this store. https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/

[ExcitedMama]

Thanks I hadn't even considered that they might be dull!

 

Tanaqui is there a pair that you would recommend?

[Tsuga]

Scissors are hard to use at five for many kids.

 

My daughter uses the right handed scissors on her left hand. Frankly I never even thought about how she does it. I didn't teach her.

 

I think she uses them upside-down. I didn't realize we had to teach our children to use scissors. Maybe if you leave around some dollies with silky hair, and scissors nearby, the child will spontaneously find a way to destroy all of the dollies' hair. In that way, with the incentive of getting that satisfying "snip!", learn to use whatever scissors are available to them? That seems to be what happened in my house.

 

But you can buy left-handed scissors at Target.

[wathe]

Both my lefty boys use these.  

 

Reversed blades are key.  We have several pairs: one just for sewing, 2 pairs for general use around the house, and 2 pairs that live in the going out bag for use while out (library, scouts etc).

[Tanaqui]

Thanks I hadn't even considered that they might be dull!

 

Tanaqui is there a pair that you would recommend?

 

For kids? My girls are righties! I like Fiskars for me, though, and assume their kid scissors are also good quality.

 

I think she uses them upside-down. I didn't realize we had to teach our children to use scissors.

 

I did that until I discovered lefty scissors. It always hurt my wrist, and if I had to cut out something neatly, even at ten or twelve, it was extraordinarily difficult. I learned to use "whatever scissors were available", but I didn't learn to do it *well*, or painlessly.

[rjand6more]

We just expect our leftie to adapt.  Like he will all his life.  We have a family of woodworkers and tradesmen.  You would have thought ds had an illness preventing him from working all his life according to my fil.  (Ridiculous, I know.) Can't easily find left-handed hand and power tools.  We decided to teach him from a young age to adapt using tools available.

[Tanaqui]

We just expect our leftie to adapt.  Like he will all his life.  We have a family of woodworkers and tradesmen.  You would have thought ds had an illness preventing him from working all his life according to my fil.  (Ridiculous, I know.) Can't easily find left-handed hand and power tools.  We decided to teach him from a young age to adapt using tools available.

 

Not everybody can "just adapt", and different left-handers will have different abilities to do so. Expecting somebody to just adapt can turn a normal variation into a handicapping condition, similar to asking your slightly nearsighted child to adapt to a world without glasses. It is easy to find lefty power tools nowadays simply by using the internet.

 

Seriously, this, in a nutshell, is a perfect example of the difference between the medical model of disability and the social model (excepting the fact that handedness is not generally a disability unless we make it so).

[JudoMom]

I've got 3 lefties and have never purchased anything special for them, except for ball gloves and quick drying ink pens. It has never been an issue.

[happypamama]

I have the red and blue Fiskars for my four year old lefty baby. I figure he's going to have to adapt to things all his life, so I might as well make it easier for him where I can, and scissors are part of that. I made left handed notebooks for him too, and if he wants a lefty can opener someday, I will make that happen. I'm short, barely five feet tall. I have to adapt to things all the time, and I'm used to it by now, but it's nice when something is just easy for once, like a car with adjustable pedals so I don't have to strain. I feel the same way about things for my lefty baby.

[sweetpea3829]

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty?  I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5.  But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.  

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?  

[JudoMom]

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty?  I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5.  But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.  

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?  

 

When I was teaching all of my boys to write, I just sat the pencil down on the desk and had them pick it up.  I never made them switch hands, and it was obvious that my lefties preferred their left.  Middle and youngest are righties; the rest are lefties.  

[rjand6more]

Not everybody can "just adapt", and different left-handers will have different abilities to do so. Expecting somebody to just adapt can turn a normal variation into a handicapping condition, similar to asking your slightly nearsighted child to adapt to a world without glasses. It is easy to find lefty power tools nowadays simply by using the internet.

 

Seriously, this, in a nutshell, is a perfect example of the difference between the medical model of disability and the social model (excepting the fact that handedness is not generally a disability unless we make it so).

 

I don't feel like any of this applies to being left handed. I do not equate not buying special scissors with not providing glasses to my child.  It is not making him disabled, nor does he consider himself so.  He is learning to use power tools and other equipment.  He is 7.  I do not want him to feel at a loss or incapable of using tools that are on a jobsite.  When you put someone in that situation and you teach him that he need all sorts of special things to get through life, that's when it feels like a disability.  You have made it so for your child. He would be forced to use a dangerous tool he is not familiar with and that's when accidents happen.

[boscopup]

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty?  I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5.  But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.  

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?  

 

My 6 year old is a lefty. He was ambidextrous for a long time, and he still is in some cases, but he prefers writing with his left hand. When I taught him to write, I just said to use whichever hand felt comfortable. Sometimes he'd start with his left, then switch to his right when he got tired. :) He loves writing, and he can write neatly with either hand. But he has always preferred his left hand for thumb sucking, opening doors, picking up utensils to eat with, and writing/drawing. I noticed it early on and just let him use whichever hand he wanted.

 

For sports and other activities, I've sometimes had to suggest that he try his left hand. For example, when he got to tag along at Cub Scout camp at age 3 (his brother was a Tiger that year and I had to stay with him), he tried shooting the bow and arrow with his right hand first. He was getting nowhere near the target. So I suggested using his left hand instead. Lo and behold, he hit the target! He did better than his older brothers. :p In hockey he still holds the stick right handed, I think mostly because no one ever suggested the other way. He hits baseballs right handed, but again, I think because that's what he saw others doing.

 

He also uses right handed scissors, usually with his right hand. I've seen him cut with them left handed also. I'd only want to get him left handed scissors if he wants to cut left handed most of the time, as right handed scissors won't work well in the left hand (I once tried to cut with my sister's left handed scissors... didn't work very well!). Thankfully, he has amazing fine motor skills with either hand, so he hasn't needed special lefty tools. If he needs special tools, I'll get them. But if he can function normally with right-handed tools, that would be easier in life. If he's in an office and needs to borrow scissors briefly, chances are they won't have lefty scissors. ;) I agree that not everyone can do that, but since he has been somewhat ambidextrous most of this time, he definitely can.

 

[sweetpea3829]

I don't feel like any of this applies to being left handed. I do not equate not buying special scissors with not providing glasses to my child.  It is not making him disabled, nor does he consider himself so.  He is learning to use power tools and other equipment.  He is 7.  I do not want him to feel at a loss or incapable of using tools that are on a jobsite.  When you put someone in that situation and you teach him that he need all sorts of special things to get through life, that's when it feels like a disability.  You have made it so for your child. He would be forced to use a dangerous tool he is not familiar with and that's when accidents happen.

 

I tend to agree with this but I do have to say....being a righty in a righty world, I can't really say for sure how it would be to be a lefty.  

 

That said, it is my understanding that most folks CAN learn to use their non-dominant hand pretty well, if they work with it and train with it.  If you think about it, when we started learning how to write (and do other things) with our dominant hand...its not as if we were very good at it at first.  We had to train that side, develop those muscles, etc.  

 

But again, I'm not a lefty so... 

[sweetpea3829]

My 6 year old is a lefty. He was ambidextrous for a long time, and he still is in some cases, but he prefers writing with his left hand. When I taught him to write, I just said to use whichever hand felt comfortable. Sometimes he'd start with his left, then switch to his right when he got tired. :) He loves writing, and he can write neatly with either hand. But he has always preferred his left hand for thumb sucking, opening doors, picking up utensils to eat with, and writing/drawing. I noticed it early on and just let him use whichever hand he wanted.

 

For sports and other activities, I've sometimes had to suggest that he try his left hand. For example, when he got to tag along at Cub Scout camp at age 3 (his brother was a Tiger that year and I had to stay with him), he tried shooting the bow and arrow with his right hand first. He was getting nowhere near the target. So I suggested using his left hand instead. Lo and behold, he hit the target! He did better than his older brothers. :p In hockey he still holds the stick right handed, I think mostly because no one ever suggested the other way. He hits baseballs right handed, but again, I think because that's what he saw others doing.

 

He also uses right handed scissors, usually with his right hand. I've seen him cut with them left handed also. I'd only want to get him left handed scissors if he wants to cut left handed most of the time, as right handed scissors won't work well in the left hand (I once tried to cut with my sister's left handed scissors... didn't work very well!). Thankfully, he has amazing fine motor skills with either hand, so he hasn't needed special lefty tools. If he needs special tools, I'll get them. But if he can function normally with right-handed tools, that would be easier in life. If he's in an office and needs to borrow scissors briefly, chances are they won't have lefty scissors. ;) I agree that not everyone can do that, but since he has been somewhat ambidextrous most of this time, he definitely can.

 

 

I wondered if my 6 yr old would be ambidextrous....before we knew he was a lefty, he played an entire season of baseball as a righty.  I had just assumed (because there are literally no other lefties anywhere in our families...but I am adopted so there's that).  He was pretty good as a righty!  

 

Imagine my shock when I sat him down to teach letters and put the pencil in his right hand and he said, "No mommy, this one" and switched it to his left!  Most kids do switch back and forth...and he could switch pretty readily.  But he's pretty much dropped the right hand writing.  And this last baseball season, we bought him a lefty glove and he played as a lefty.  

 

I was just curious because I see some folks mentioning their 3 and 4 yr olds as lefties and I'm not really sure you can tell for sure at that age!  

[Tanaqui]

I don't feel like any of this applies to being left handed. I do not equate not buying special scissors with not providing glasses to my child.  It is not making him disabled, nor does he consider himself so.  He is learning to use power tools and other equipment.  He is 7.  I do not want him to feel at a loss or incapable of using tools that are on a jobsite.  When you put someone in that situation and you teach him that he need all sorts of special things to get through life, that's when it feels like a disability.  You have made it so for your child. He would be forced to use a dangerous tool he is not familiar with and that's when accidents happen.

 

I'm the one who is lefthanded in my family.

 

I'm the one who was forced to "adapt".

 

I'm the one who literally had physical pain when using tools expected for righthanders, and who was extraordinarily clumsy when trying to use my right hand so I could use those things without pain.

 

Giving your child the correct tools for the job is enabling them to work to their fullest potential. Expecting them to adapt is - I can assure you from personal experience - what handicaps somebody.

 

I have experience as a lefthander with this. From what you said, you simply have opinions.

 

At least 10% of the world is lefthanded (the number cited is generally 13%), and honestly, those stats are out of date (and based primarily on self-reporting, which is a flawed metric for reasons I'll get into below). I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the actual percentage is closer to 20%. That's an awful lot of people you're asking to "just adapt".

 

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty?  I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5.  But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.  

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?

 

Handedness is a lot more complicated than most people think. Lots of people just go "well, it's the hand you write with" and don't think much further than that (which means that our numbers are screwed if most reporters grew up in an era where some parents and teachers still expected them to switch hands).

 

It's not all that unusual for people to prefer one hand for some tasks and the other for others. You might do one hand for gross motor tasks, the other for fine motor, or you might write with your right hand and do everything else with your left, or you might have a small list of randomly chosen tasks that you do with one hand rather than the other. (As I said upthread, I pick my nose with my right hand. I use a mouse with my right hand... though I prefer keyboard controls, which I can do with my left. I also cut my food with my right hand, but then I pick it up with my fork in my left - I'm used to European table manners, which don't require you to move the knife around as you eat.) Nor is it unusual for somebody to be left-hand dominant but right-eye dominant, right-hand dominant but left-foot dominant, that sort of thing.

 

I knew the girls were right-handed before the age of six because they inevitably chose to use their right hands. They scribbled with their crayon in the right hand, they picked up food with the right hand, they threw things with the right hand. They were just as righty as could be.

 

When they learned to write, they both went through periods of trying to do it lefty like me (because they'd worked out the idea of handedness by then). I humored them. They passed that stage. But I always was careful to put the pencil in a neutral spot (not closer to one hand or another), that sort of thing.

 

The only concession I made to obvious handedness is with desk setup. They always tried to do it like me - books on the right, where you're writing on the left - and of course that doesn't work for them. They were very much put-out when I made them switch it around every time. "You don't know that it's easier!" Yeah, I do - your elbow is covering what you need to read, sweetie.

[rjand6more]

I'm the one who is lefthanded in my family.

 

I'm the one who was forced to "adapt".

 

I'm the one who literally had physical pain when using tools expected for righthanders, and who was extraordinarily clumsy when trying to use my right hand so I could use those things without pain.

 

Giving your child the correct tools for the job is enabling them to work to their fullest potential. Expecting them to adapt is - I can assure you from personal experience - what handicaps somebody.

 

I have experience as a lefthander with this. From what you said, you simply have opinions.

 

At least 10% of the world is lefthanded (the number cited is generally 13%), and honestly, those stats are out of date (and based primarily on self-reporting, which is a flawed metric for reasons I'll get into below). I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the actual percentage is closer to 20%. That's an awful lot of people you're asking to "just adapt".

 

 

 

Nice to hear an experienced lefty:)  My husband and I are righties and so are the other kids.(Well, all the ones that write.)  You are right.  My opinions for my child.  It helps he is really tough and doesn't like crafts much anyway.ha!  I asked him today about cutting.  He said he thinks he's a great cutter.  I asked him if it hurt his hand.  He said no way and cut out a beautiful butterfly. :)  Everyone is different.

 

Knowing from experience, it is not easy to find left handed tools on a jobsite.  All the lefties I know use right handed tools.  Funny story: My husband learned to paint houses(his trade) from a lefty.  My husband still cuts in with his left hand after 20 years!  It is way straighter than his right.

 

Sorry if I sound unsympathetic.  I just told him that if he ever feels he needs special tools, let me know and I will see what I can do. :)

 

[MistyMountain]

I guess I should get my ds left handed scissors now that he settles on his left hand. He was ambidextrous until recently. Is there any other school tools for kids that I should look for a left handed version?

 

I think kids typically develop handedness before 6 or 7 but my ds took that long. An OT who saw him before he turned 6 said that he should have established it already and his teacher said that it was unusual to still switch too. The good thing about him being so late to establish it is in sports he can use both feet.

[momof4babes]

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty? I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5. But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?

We have known/suspected for at least a year.

She consiste

[momof4babes]

I'm just curious...for those folks who have lefties that are under the age of 6...how do you know for sure that your kiddo is really a lefty? I first noticed DS' lefty tendencies when I first sat him down to teach him to write his letters...he had just turned 5. But I taught him both hands for a good six months before I finally gave up on the righty side because I was certain he DEFINITELY preferred his left.

 

I was under the impression that they can switch hands for quite awhile...up until 6 or even 7?

We have known/suspected for at least a year.

She always uses her left hand when reaching for things, drawing, feeding herself etc.

[Tanaqui]

If he does a lot of cutting with the wrong tool in the left hand, he'll feel it sooner or later. It's actually because of the pain that I feel so very strongly about this - I actually have recurring wrist pain in my left wrist which I'm 95% sure tracks back to the repetitive stress of using the wrong tools.

 

So I can get really pissy on the subject, and I apologize. It's just... really important to me.

 

Is there any other school tools for kids that I should look for a left handed version?

 

Pencil sharpeners.

 

Some people like to get top-bound notebooks, I find it's just as easy to write on the reverse side of the page. Don't even need to flip the book over. Lots of people like lefty rulers (the numbers run backwards), that's not necessary but it is nice not to have to actually count the inches as you draw a line but just to look at the number. (Then again, counting the inches improves your ability to subtract from 12 and 18 remarkably, so maybe you should get the lefty ruler for your right handed kid!) It's sometimes fun to have a pencil with a cute slogan that YOU can read as you write, but all those seem to have slogans about being left-handed, which is rather pointless.

 

As school tools go, the only things I feel strongly about are the scissors and the sharpener*. If your kid helps a lot in the kitchen it may be useful to get a lefty can opener (or at least to make sure he knows to open it with the right hand - you don't want to torque it funny in the left hand, trust me on this one) and to get lefty serrated blades.

 

If your kid is happy and capable using tools in his right hand (without any pressure), by all means, go for it, but I strongly encourage you to *discourage* them from using righty tools in the left hand.

 

* Remember what I said about wrist pain? Yeowch. Plus, pencils break if you try to sharpen them with the wrong hand, and while I'll agree that you might not carry all your power tools around with you every time you're going on a job, you probably can carry your own sharpener with you your entire life. Those things aren't very big.

[Love_to_Read]

Establishing handedness varies a lot. 

 

I have a picture of my leftie industriously scribbling away with her crayons always in her left hand before she even turned two. (Obviously, we kept a close eye to make sure she didn't eat any, but she really, really, really wanted to color.)

 

By contrast, I did most of my kindergarten work ambidextrously and got seriously annoyed at my teacher making me pick one hand to focus on!

 

Interesting to note, ambidextrous children do have a higher correlation with being dyslexic. It's not a 100% correlation...I wasn't...but it is high, so good to research other early warning signs so you can choose your curriculum appropriately if needed.  www.dys-add.com has a page about identifying preschoolers, kindergarteners, etc., and early intervention seems to help a lot.

 

[Love_to_Read]

We just expect our leftie to adapt.  Like he will all his life.  We have a family of woodworkers and tradesmen.  You would have thought ds had an illness preventing him from working all his life according to my fil.  (Ridiculous, I know.) Can't easily find left-handed hand and power tools.  We decided to teach him from a young age to adapt using tools available.

 

It's definitely worth teaching him to be AWARE of which tools are designed to be right handed, which are safe to be used left-handed, and which are not.  But there may be some that he will simply be more skillful at using a tool designed for his dominant hand. 

 

My woodshop teacher in school used to tell us the story of a lefty who tried to use a right-handled circular saw with his left hand, with his wrist crossing right in front of the blade.  Shudder.  All of us lefties were very, very aware of making sure to use the hand nearest the handle on power tools after that.  But for someone less ambidextrous than I am, who owned such a machine in his own shop, it would be well worth reversing the handle rather than holding the wood awkwardly and risking an instinctive mistake like that.  Also, I'm relatively good at the many things I've learned through right-handed practice over the years, but I could totally see a more dominant leftie simply avoiding going into such a career because of the extra effort and awkwardness, even someone with a lot of creative potential and talent otherwise.

[happypamama]

I will get my lefty a lefty mug if he ever wants one with a picture on it! We have little child mugs for a couple of the big kids, and they have a picture on one side, which a lefty wouldn't be able to see. But most often, the big kids each use their mugs from a local potter, and those don't have pictures, so when my lefty is old enough, he will get to pick one too. But if it ever were an issue, I'd buy him a lefty mug. (I should add that my lefty is my fourth child and third son, and he's a quiet little guy and the only one sandwiched between two close in age siblings, so I will admit to catering to him a bit as a way of avoiding middle child issues and making sure that he's not lost in the family.)

 

I first suspected that he was a lefty when he was a young toddler, because he'd always grab for things with his left hand. (None of my babies have been big finger or thumb suckers after about four months.). He uses his right some but will naturally reach out with his left much more, even reaching across his body. I'd put oatmeal in bowls and plunk spoons in them, several in a line, and since I'm a righty, and so are the three older ones, the spoons would all naturally be sticking out to the right. My lefty baby would reach across with his left to get the spoon, even though it was closer to his right. Every time, very consistently. And when he went to use a fork, scissors, crayon, etc., he would be much better able to do so with his left. Even though toddlers are naturally clumsy, he was definitely less so with his left than with his right. He's been solidly a lefty for a good two to three years, so I suspect he won't change.

 

DD, otoh, went through stages where she would prefer her left, but the she'd switch back to right after a while. She is more dominantly right but will sometimes write with her left just for the fun of it. It's not as good as with her right, but it's actually pretty decent, if a little slower. I'm fairly ambidextrous myself, actually, although not with writing. I am cross-dominant, although DD is not. Not sure about lefty baby.

[HSmomof2]

Is there anything wrong with specifically encouraging a lefty to learn to use right-hand scissors? Because we have one lefty in the house (much to our surprise) and I have encouraged him to learn how to cut with his right hand. He doesn't seem any worse for the wear.

I'm a lefty that cuts with my right hand. This was primarily due to either not having lefty scissors available, or the one pair in the class was old, rusty, and sticky with glue. I learned to adapt and cut with my right hand. I don't think it's caused me any permanent trauma in my 43 years. 😉 My dc are both lefties. One can cut well with either hand, and prefers right. The other is very left hand dominant and has her own lefty scissors.

[scoutingmom]

My one leftie... I wasn't sure for a while... she used either hand. But by 4.5 or 5 it was fairly clear she used the left a lot more by that point. She seems to be right-eyed though so that makes it interesting at times. My next leftie was obvious.... she always used her left even when very young. Same with my 2 righties.... they pretty much always used their right hands even when very young.

 

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[MistyMountain]

Establishing handedness varies a lot.

 

I have a picture of my leftie industriously scribbling away with her crayons always in her left hand before she even turned two. (Obviously, we kept a close eye to make sure she didn't eat any, but she really, really, really wanted to color.)

 

By contrast, I did most of my kindergarten work ambidextrously and got seriously annoyed at my teacher making me pick one hand to focus on!

 

Interesting to note, ambidextrous children do have a higher correlation with being dyslexic. It's not a 100% correlation...I wasn't...but it is high, so good to research other early warning signs so you can choose your curriculum appropriately if needed. www.dys-add.com has a page about identifying preschoolers, kindergarteners, etc., and early intervention seems to help a lot.

I suspect dyslexia in my ds who was late in developing handeness. His reading skills is much below his thinking skills and he is having trouble learning to read. He has the warning signs and also all the positive signs of strengths dyslexics tend to have.

[sweetpea3829]

Interesting to note, ambidextrous children do have a higher correlation with being dyslexic. It's not a 100% correlation...I wasn't...but it is high, so good to research other early warning signs so you can choose your curriculum appropriately if needed.  www.dys-add.com has a page about identifying preschoolers, kindergarteners, etc., and early intervention seems to help a lot.

 

 

I have heard this too and have to add...

 

My dyslexic husband is not necessarily ambidextrous...however, he CAN write with both hands.  At the same time.  His left (non-dominant) is nowhere near as neat as the right...but the fact that he can even do it...lol.