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Posted

DS has been using these:

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/042370

 

But has started to complain that the grip is too small. It doesn't look like Fiskars makes a lefty version for bigger kids. I think this is the next size up:

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/035438

 

I know there have been posts that they should use lefty scissors so I'm not sure if I should buy a non-lefty pair. Any recommendations? Thanks!

Posted

DS tried my regular scissors but thought they were too big. Since he thought they were big I'm not sure if there would be any issue in using regular instead of lefty scissors which is my dilemma.

Posted (edited)

Not to hijack, but have you noticed a difference in true left-handed scissors and the ones that can be used either or? Debating buying left handed ones for my preschooler

Yes, they are put together differently in terms of which blade is on top. I bought my 3 yo the fiskars lefties that op has been using. Even at 3 yo with somewhat limited fine motor skill, I can tell a difference in how he works with them.

Edited by Syllieann
Posted

Not to hijack, but have you noticed a difference in true left-handed scissors and the ones that can be used either or? Debating buying left handed ones for my preschooler

Get true lefty ones for your preschooler. I don't know about the either or ones, but I'm suspecting they just have the same size holes for the fingers but that the blades are still arranged differently. True lefty scissors have the opposite blade on top from righty scissors.

 

These are the ones my lefty 5yo has, and they work well for him. Note: I think the picture on Amazon is backward from the actual product, but they are true lefty scissors. https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Inch-Handed-Pointed-tip-Scissors/dp/B0020MLI4S

  • Like 1
Posted

Get true lefty ones for your preschooler. I don't know about the either or ones, but I'm suspecting they just have the same size holes for the fingers but that the blades are still arranged differently. True lefty scissors have the opposite blade on top from righty scissors.

 

These are the ones my lefty 5yo has, and they work well for him. Note: I think the picture on Amazon is backward from the actual product, but they are true lefty scissors. https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Inch-Handed-Pointed-tip-Scissors/dp/B0020MLI4S

Thanks. I have a pair of lefty scissors in my Amazon Cart. Just waiting, because they're an add-on item. Dd cuts really well with the either or ones (same size holes as you said). But I think her cutting and grip would improve with lefty scissors.

  • Like 1
Posted

Thanks. I have a pair of lefty scissors in my Amazon Cart. Just waiting, because they're an add-on item. Dd cuts really well with the either or ones (same size holes as you said). But I think her cutting and grip would improve with lefty scissors.

They are similarly priced at Walmart. I've seen them in several other mainstream b&m stores as well.

Posted

My DS6 does better with true lefty, too.  If I give him righty/ambi scissors, he will switch to cutting with his right hand because he gets frustrated with the blade not cutting.  I suspect DS is ambidextrous (he kicks righty, thinks he wants to bat and golf righty), but his motor skills are definitely better in his left hand.

Posted

Interesting. My two lefties have always seemed to do fine with Fiskars ambi scissors, but maybe I will get some lefty scissors to see if they like them better.

 

I am also a lefty but I cut with my right hand. I'm pretty sure that came from not always having access to lefty/ambi scissors.

Posted

Those had caught my eye but I was confused by the finger holes. Are they really the same size? He has used the kind that has a small thumb hold and large finger hole so I'm not sure if that would work.

Posted

I'm not home right now, but when my dd went off to college, I bought her a nice pair of lefty scissors from an on-line lefty company.  She can't believe what a difference this has made.  (I felt badly to have waited so long in getting them!!)  I did get her cheap left-handed ones before from the store, but they really didn't work well.  These new ones are super.

  • Like 1
Posted

I'm not home right now, but when my dd went off to college, I bought her a nice pair of lefty scissors from an on-line lefty company. She can't believe what a difference this has made. (I felt badly to have waited so long in getting them!!) I did get her cheap left-handed ones before from the store, but they really didn't work well. These new ones are super.

I haven't seen lefty scissors in store locally and we live in a major city. The usual office supplies stores and target don't sell them for kids. Just the ambi ones. Dd is lefty and not ambi at all. I'm going to see if it makes a difference. She cuts really well already, but if the lefty are more comfortable that's key

Posted

I haven't seen lefty scissors in store locally and we live in a major city. The usual office supplies stores and target don't sell them for kids. Just the ambi ones. Dd is lefty and not ambi at all. I'm going to see if it makes a difference. She cuts really well already, but if the lefty are more comfortable that's key

 

Yes, and it could be this was our problem.  That what we thought we were getting as lefty scissors at the local store were actually just ambi.  Those did not work well at all for my lefty daughter.  And actually, my dd IS ambi, but she does very specific tasks with her left hand and very specific tasks with her right hand.  She generally can't switch back and forth.

  • Like 1
Posted

As a lefty, I think most left handed scissors are not good. Teach him to use his right for cutting- it will simplify his life. Left ones are more comfortable but efficiency is more important. I find that most of the time you aren't cutting long enough for the fatigue that comes from using your right hand to outweigh the frustration that comes from using left handed scissors. And, most places and most scissors will be right handed and it's good to be used to it. 

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

Guys, scissors are portable. Extremely portable. As a lefty, if I ever need to use scissors, I use my lefty scissors. Why? Because if I think there's a chance I'll need to use scissors, I bring mine with me. I always have access to lefty scissors when needed, because if necessary, I bring them with me.

 

I suppose if I suddenly have a scissors emergency on an airplane I might be SOL, but how likely is that?

Edited by Tanaqui
  • Like 2
Posted

Those had caught my eye but I was confused by the finger holes. Are they really the same size? He has used the kind that has a small thumb hold and large finger hole so I'm not sure if that would work.

They are the same size and it has never been an issue. I think it is because the outer part of the handles are squishy, so you can squeeze your fingers together. Before these scissors he had the same ones you linked in your OP.

Posted

Guys, scissors are portable. Extremely portable. As a lefty, if I ever need to use scissors, I use my lefty scissors. Why? Because if I think there's a chance I'll need to use scissors, I bring mine with me. I always have access to lefty scissors when needed, because if necessary, I bring them with me.

 

I suppose if I suddenly have a scissors emergency on an airplane I might be SOL, but how likely is that?

I had to chuckle at this as it was the same thing I thought when I read the comment about left-handed scissors not being available everywhere. I carry a pair of Ds' scissors in my purse in case we end up somewhere at a spontaneous craft-type event (it happens from time to time). I also carry a pen and pencil, just in case, which I'm sure others do too.

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

Guys, scissors are portable. Extremely portable. As a lefty, if I ever need to use scissors, I use my lefty scissors. Why? Because if I think there's a chance I'll need to use scissors, I bring mine with me. I always have access to lefty scissors when needed, because if necessary, I bring them with me.

 

I suppose if I suddenly have a scissors emergency on an airplane I might be SOL, but how likely is that?

 

 

I mean, I don't personally carry scissors with me and never have.  Being a righty, it's never been an issue.

 

But why bother when a lefty can *usually* learn how to use righty scissors just fine, especially if taught young?  My lefty doesn't even have great fine motor control and he's doing just fine with righty scissors, and he's only 7! 

 

 

When I first realized DS was going to be a lefty (a shock to us, as there are no other lefties in our family), I came on here seeking advice.  One of the things that was said to me was to try and avoid specializing him in things like scissors, tools, etc.  That, if at all possible, to encourage him to use his right hand for certain things so that he would not find himself disadvantaged as a left-handed adult in a rightie-dominant world.  

 

Obviously, there are certain things that this doesn't apply to.  But scissors?  

Edited by Sweetpea3829
Posted

I ordered a pair of the Maped scissors for my 10 year old. Now I'm curious about them too! (though I've adapted to right handed cutting for over 30 years and even the thought of lefty cutting feels weird lol)

 

I have a family member who irons with her left hand because her mom and older sister were both left handed and that's how they taught her. 

 

 

Posted

For us personally, my DH's siblings went to strict Catholic schools, and one of his brothers got his hand beat when he tried to be lefty.  My MIL went so far as tying his left hand behind his back for a while to force him to be a righty.  I *suspect* that my husband was born a lefty, too (he's left eye dominant, he wears his wallet and watches on the wrong side, he starts running and walking left foot first).  DS6 started showing a lefty preference as soon as he started grasping things, and DH said right then we would never encourage right over left.  I buy lefty scissors, lefty spirals, etc.  DS still voluntarily switches between hands, but we never, ever try to correct his dominance.

Posted

Guys, scissors are portable. Extremely portable. As a lefty, if I ever need to use scissors, I use my lefty scissors. Why? Because if I think there's a chance I'll need to use scissors, I bring mine with me. I always have access to lefty scissors when needed, because if necessary, I bring them with me.

 

I suppose if I suddenly have a scissors emergency on an airplane I might be SOL, but how likely is that?

 

I don't carry a purse at all, so it would be a big inconvenience. Mostly, though, I haven't found any lefty scissors that are worth using. Maybe my parents were cheap! They bought me several when I was a kid and they all didn't work well. Perhaps if I had experienced really good lefty scissors I would feel differently and would never want to go back to righty ones! :)

Posted

I don't carry a purse at all, so it would be a big inconvenience. Mostly, though, I haven't found any lefty scissors that are worth using. Maybe my parents were cheap! They bought me several when I was a kid and they all didn't work well. Perhaps if I had experienced really good lefty scissors I would feel differently and would never want to go back to righty ones! :)

 

If you're as old as me, they probably didn't really make them back then.  When I was in elementary, school provided the scissors, they were all silver with same size rings and the teacher transported them in a little wire rack that held enough for a classroom.

Posted (edited)
But why bother when a lefty can *usually* learn how to use righty scissors just fine, especially if taught young?  My lefty doesn't even have great fine motor control and he's doing just fine with righty scissors, and he's only 7!

 

Because it's always an extra effort to use your non-dominant hand. Why force them to use their non-dominant hand when quality lefty scissors are affordable and easy to obtain?

 

If your child had CP and needed a wheelchair for long distances, you wouldn't force him to walk even when he was exhausted just because "there aren't always ramps", would you? You would demand he be accommodated. Lefty scissors are a reasonable accommodation for a left handed individual - and we make up a far greater portion of the population than wheelchair users.

 

(For that matter, if you went to a sewing class and they promised to provide all the materials, but only gave you access to lefty scissors and no righty scissors, I'm sure you would complain, and you'd be right to!)

 

In contrast to what another poster said, if I use righty scissors for even three snips, my hand hurts. My hand hurts if I try to use a righty pencil sharpener. Anything with torque, really - and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been stuck using righty tools for my childhood and adolescence.

 

Now, if your child legitimately prefers to use his right hand when cutting - okay, that's a thing. It's usual for people to prefer one hand for some tasks and the other for others. (Well, not me, I'm very strongly left handed, but normal people.) But to deny your child a choice? Over something as simple as scissors? They're not expensive. They're not hard to find, not in these days of internet ordering. They're not awkward or hard to transport.

 

I'd like to take you and put you in a house that's all set up for lefties, and make you live there a month! (Barring that, I'd like to do my favorite trick, and give you a pair of perfectly good lefty scissors and ask you to cut along a marked line on a piece of paper. Righties invariably have trouble doing this, and they're just stunned.)

 

. Perhaps if I had experienced really good lefty scissors I would feel differently and would never want to go back to righty ones!

 

I've got three pairs of Fiskar's, and I love them with a passion. They were on sale at the discount store for $2 apiece and I stocked up! They make good righty scissors, and they make good lefty scissors. But if you're happy with your method, don't let me gainsay you.

 

Edit: I just thought of something.

 

I do, in fact, do most of the cutting in my house, so we've got three good pairs of lefty scissors to one good pair of righty scissors. So the girls have been known to take my scissors to use them, rather than look for the righty ones they lost.  But when they complain they can't find "their" scissors, I don't say "just adapt and use mine", I say "Let's help you find yours". Because it's important to them to use their scissors comfortably in the hand they most like using. Isn't that the best way to treat another person?

Edited by Tanaqui
  • Like 2
Posted

Because it's always an extra effort to use your non-dominant hand. Why force them to use their non-dominant hand when quality lefty scissors are affordable and easy to obtain?

 

If your child had CP and needed a wheelchair for long distances, you wouldn't force him to walk even when he was exhausted just because "there aren't always ramps", would you? You would demand he be accommodated. Lefty scissors are a reasonable accommodation for a left handed individual - and we make up a far greater portion of the population than wheelchair users.

 

(For that matter, if you went to a sewing class and they promised to provide all the materials, but only gave you access to lefty scissors and no righty scissors, I'm sure you would complain, and you'd be right to!)

 

In contrast to what another poster said, if I use righty scissors for even three snips, my hand hurts. My hand hurts if I try to use a righty pencil sharpener. Anything with torque, really - and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been stuck using righty tools for my childhood and adolescence.

 

Now, if your child legitimately prefers to use his right hand when cutting - okay, that's a thing. It's usual for people to prefer one hand for some tasks and the other for others. (Well, not me, I'm very strongly left handed, but normal people.) But to deny your child a choice? Over something as simple as scissors? They're not expensive. They're not hard to find, not in these days of internet ordering. They're not awkward or hard to transport.

 

I'd like to take you and put you in a house that's all set up for lefties, and make you live there a month! (Barring that, I'd like to do my favorite trick, and give you a pair of perfectly good lefty scissors and ask you to cut along a marked line on a piece of paper. Righties invariably have trouble doing this, and they're just stunned.)

 

 

I've got three pairs of Fiskar's, and I love them with a passion. They were on sale at the discount store for $2 apiece and I stocked up! They make good righty scissors, and they make good lefty scissors. But if you're happy with your method, don't let me gainsay you.

 

Edit: I just thought of something.

 

I do, in fact, do most of the cutting in my house, so we've got three good pairs of lefty scissors to one good pair of righty scissors. So the girls have been known to take my scissors to use them, rather than look for the righty ones they lost. But when they complain they can't find "their" scissors, I don't say "just adapt and use mine", I say "Let's help you find yours". Because it's important to them to use their scissors comfortably in the hand they most like using. Isn't that the best way to treat another person?

What store have you found them in? I've seen the ambi fiskars, but not the lefties in store. My Dd is 4.6 and has pretty good fine motor skills (writes, cuts well, etc) and uses her left hand for all of Them. So she uses her left hand for cutting but uses ambi scissors. I think I'll buy a pair of fiskar lefties for home and school. I think she'd have a more comfortable grip.

Posted

Because it's always an extra effort to use your non-dominant hand. Why force them to use their non-dominant hand when quality lefty scissors are affordable and easy to obtain?

 

If your child had CP and needed a wheelchair for long distances, you wouldn't force him to walk even when he was exhausted just because "there aren't always ramps", would you? You would demand he be accommodated. Lefty scissors are a reasonable accommodation for a left handed individual - and we make up a far greater portion of the population than wheelchair users.

 

(For that matter, if you went to a sewing class and they promised to provide all the materials, but only gave you access to lefty scissors and no righty scissors, I'm sure you would complain, and you'd be right to!)

 

In contrast to what another poster said, if I use righty scissors for even three snips, my hand hurts. My hand hurts if I try to use a righty pencil sharpener. Anything with torque, really - and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been stuck using righty tools for my childhood and adolescence.

 

Now, if your child legitimately prefers to use his right hand when cutting - okay, that's a thing. It's usual for people to prefer one hand for some tasks and the other for others. (Well, not me, I'm very strongly left handed, but normal people.) But to deny your child a choice? Over something as simple as scissors? They're not expensive. They're not hard to find, not in these days of internet ordering. They're not awkward or hard to transport.

 

I'd like to take you and put you in a house that's all set up for lefties, and make you live there a month! (Barring that, I'd like to do my favorite trick, and give you a pair of perfectly good lefty scissors and ask you to cut along a marked line on a piece of paper. Righties invariably have trouble doing this, and they're just stunned.)

 

 

I've got three pairs of Fiskar's, and I love them with a passion. They were on sale at the discount store for $2 apiece and I stocked up! They make good righty scissors, and they make good lefty scissors. But if you're happy with your method, don't let me gainsay you.

 

Edit: I just thought of something.

 

I do, in fact, do most of the cutting in my house, so we've got three good pairs of lefty scissors to one good pair of righty scissors. So the girls have been known to take my scissors to use them, rather than look for the righty ones they lost.  But when they complain they can't find "their" scissors, I don't say "just adapt and use mine", I say "Let's help you find yours". Because it's important to them to use their scissors comfortably in the hand they most like using. Isn't that the best way to treat another person?

 

 

I mean....you're comparing hand preference to a disability here, Tan.  Being left-handed is, in no way, equal to having a disability.  Sure, it must be frustrating to be a lefty in a right-dominated world.  I get it (I really don't...as I'm a righty, and DS7 is the first lefty in my family).  

 

Hey...it's all good.  I just want to make sure my son CAN use right-handed scissors, or right-handed tools.  Because when he's an adult, I'm pretty sure he's not going to carry scissors around with him.  Neither do I want him to feel like he has to avoid doing something because he was never taught how to use his right hand in a passable way.  

 

Now...if I can get him to be like his father, who is somewhat ambidextrous and can write with BOTH HANDS AT THE SAME TIME...we'd be doing pretty good!  

 

But I doubt he'll get to that point, lol.  

Posted
What store have you found them in? I've seen the ambi fiskars, but not the lefties in store. My Dd is 4.6 and has pretty good fine motor skills (writes, cuts well, etc) and uses her left hand for all of Them. So she uses her left hand for cutting but uses ambi scissors. I think I'll buy a pair of fiskar lefties for home and school. I think she'd have a more comfortable grip.

 

A local discount store.

 

Though you can also order them off of Amazon.

 

I mean....you're comparing hand preference to a disability here, Tan.  Being left-handed is, in no way, equal to having a disability.  Sure, it must be frustrating to be a lefty in a right-dominated world.  I get it (I really don't...as I'm a righty, and DS7 is the first lefty in my family).

 

So I guess you... don't get it, but you're going to try to explain it to me anyway? Exactly how do you imagine that working?

 

You know I'm disabled as well, right? That's actually WHY I have strong opinions on neurodiversity and also on the difference between the social model and the medical model, and while handedness isn't a disability per se*, there's no reason why you can't demand that schools and classes accommodate your reasonable request that they provide enough left-handed tools for the 10 - 15% of the population that requires them.

 

Being left-handed isn't a problem right up until the moment when nobody bothers to accommodate your needs and tells you to suck it up, buttercup. You turn handedness into a problem when you refuse to give your child the option to do what's more comfortable. You're not saying "We encourage our son to use both righty and lefty scissors", but "We've taught him to use righty scissors, and we're sure it hasn't been an issue". (Well, if it IS an issue, your son might not realize it. I didn't realize until I was nearly an adult that it wasn't normal to ache when cutting things.)

 

Because when he's an adult, I'm pretty sure he's not going to carry scissors around with him.

 

Exactly what situation is he going to be in where he suddenly needs to use scissors and wasn't forewarned that this is a possibility?

 

Like, this never happens to me. Every situation I've needed to use scissors, and I haven't been in my own home, I've been prepared because, hey, this is a class or a needlework group or a situation where scissors are a possibility. If I'm going to carry my book and my keys and my wallet around with me, I can find a little space in my backpack for a set of scissors on those rare occasions when I might need them.

 

I mean, I'm trying to picture the situation where a. scissors are an urgent necessity and b. somebody else has brought over righty scissors but c. that person is unwilling or unable to use those scissors themselves and d. I didn't bring my own tools. When does this come up? Seriously, what is the context here, and has this ever actually happened to anybody on this board? Or anywhere?

 

* A great number of conditions are not necessarily disabling, but can become so due to the disabling attitudes of society. I can drop another 7 paragraphs on that subject alone, if you're interested. You're probably not, though, and I don't expect you to be :)

Posted (edited)

Both my boys are lefties.  True lefty scissors (with reversed blades) have been essential.  Cutting with righty scissors is just so hard for them, and providing them with lefty scissors is simple.  We've donated several pairs to places where they regularly need to use scissors (library, beaver scouts, grandparent's house).  This saves me from constantly transporting scissors back and forth to activities. 

Edited by wathe
  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

Both of my kids are lefties and so am I. I use right handed scissors with comfort and ease.

They used ambi kids' scissors at first and now use regular right handed ones. No problems with comfort or dexterity or control.

Edited by ScoutTN
Posted

Both of my kids are lefties and so am I. I ise right handed scissors with comfort and ease.

 

They used ambi kids' scissors at first and now use regular right handed ones. No problems with comfort or dexterity or control.

 

I am the only lefty in my house but I have always used "regular" (right-hand) scissors in my left hand. Left-handed scissors did not exist when I was growing up.  I am old enough that the nuns in my school tried to make me right-handed, but my mother told them to back off, and they did.

 

When in the left-hand store in San Francisco (mentioned upthread), I tried some scissors.  Could not use them.  Of course it's because I'd been using right-hand scissors all these years.   Others I know (my age or thereabouts) had similar experiences. 

 

I don't know what I would do if either of my kids were left-handed. I don't think it would have occurred to me to get them left-hand scissors, since I've always used right-hand scissors without trouble.   It's interesting to me that something that did not exist a generation ago is now considered necessary by many. 

 

I'm just making an observation based on my own experience as a left-handed person; not a judgment about whether or not people should buy their kids left-hand scissors. 

 

Now, spiral notebooks... that was and still is a problem for me.  I used legal or steno pads in school whenever possible.  :-) 

Posted

If you really can't get left handed scissors, even online - which I find hard to believe if you're in the US, but whatever - then you're better off getting standard righty scissors. There is NO SUCH THING as "ambi" or "lefty righty" scissors. They're just righty scissors with uncomfortable handles.

 

I am the only lefty in my house but I have always used "regular" (right-hand) scissors in my left hand. Left-handed scissors did not exist when I was growing up.  I am old enough that the nuns in my school tried to make me right-handed, but my mother told them to back off, and they did.

 

It's always been possible to take apart standard scissors to make them left-handed. (That is, standard hinged scissors. Scissors produced by bending a single piece of steel cannot be taken apart in this fashion. Most scissors that most of us have seen are hinged, though.)

 

With that said, mass production of left-handed scissors certainly begin prior to 1975. Proof? I have a picture book published that year in which the protagonist gets a pair of left-handed scissors for her birthday. It must have been plausible, which means they must not have merely existed, but been reasonably enough widespread. You might not have had access to them - I didn't either - but they certainly existed.

 

1975 was more than one generation ago, if we use the "every 25 years" rule for generations.

Posted

I am getting into way too much explanation but I saw those but they are an add on item and I did not need anything else plus they are pointed tip and I needed blunt. They now have an option for blunt from the left handed store on there but the extra cost adds up when I needed to get lots of supplies. There would have been color issues since you have to buy a two pack with the same color. The scissors I did get that are ambi are fiskars and the handles are not the same or uncomfortable looking they look like the handles on all their scissors. They had more color options because they like certain colors. I guess they must actually be right handed scissors. I can try switching the blade around.

Posted
I am getting into way too much explanation but I saw those but they are an add on item and I did not need anything else plus they are pointed tip and I needed blunt.

 

I linked to the search page when you type in "left handed fiskars". If you had scrolled down a very little bit you would have found this set of scissors - not an add-on item, blunt tip, $6.03.

Posted

Tanaqui, I appreciate all your help and insight, so I hope I don't come across as argumentative, but I also had the same issue as MistyMountain. The scissors that are $6.03 are righties. I looked quite a bit and couldn't find kiddie blunt tip sized except at special stores, which charged more than I was willing to pay for scissors for a 3 year old. I certainly would have preferred blunt for him! I will probably be willing to pay that when he is older and it is more important.

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

I really love the Maped Sensoft scissors too. They're super comfortable and where I am they're available in both left and right easily. Very much worth tracking down and there are a few sizes. I use them a lot myself because they're comfy but I have particularly small hands for an adult.

Edited by lailasmum

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