My child uses only his left hand! He is left-handed! Often this fact is perceived by parents in a negative way. It happens worse - as a punishment or a sentence of fate. Is it really so? In this article, parents will find a lot of useful information on how to help a left-handed child adapt to a world that is “imprisoned” for right-handed people.
Left-handedness: what are the reasons?
What determines which hand will lead? This is due to three factors: upbringing, heredity and possible violations that the child acquired as a result of birth trauma or perinatal complications.
As a rule, the dominant hand is connected to the opposite leading hemisphere of the brain. That is, if the dominant hemisphere is left, then a person writes with his right hand, and vice versa.
Left-handedness is not a bad habit or a whim. This is the result of a special brain structure. Most often, this is the inborn individual characteristic of the baby - the same as the pace of speech or the color of the hair, and therefore it is necessary to simply accept it, and not break it and try to rebuild.
Psychological features of left-handed people
Each of the hemispheres is responsible for its type of information processing. So, the left “logical” hemisphere processes information sequentially, sorting through all the possible scenarios. Whereas the right “figurative" hemisphere instantly processes the received information, perceiving it as one integral image.
The differences between left-handed and right-handed people are not limited to the fact that one actively uses the right hand, and the other - the left. Everything is deeper and much more complicated, but the main difference is in the method of processing the information received from the outside world. Left-handed people perceive the information received differently, and also react differently to it in a different way.
There are a number of basic psychological features that distinguish people with a dominant left hand from right-handed people:
- Left-handers have a better imagination and are prone to fantasies.
- It is more difficult for left-handed people to calculate arithmetic, due to the fact that these actions require consistent thinking, logic, and this function is controlled by the left hemisphere. But in the study of geometry, they succeed due to its spatial nature.
- Left-handed people perform worse activities that require constant self-control.
- It is easier for right-handed people to master competent written and oral speech, since left-handed people have a much weaker ability to actively reproduce speech compared to the ability to understand words.
- Left-handed people have a wonderful “body feeling”, spatial orientation and excellent coordination of movements. They are much more mobile than people with a predominant right hand.
- Left-handed people are more impressionable, emotional and vulnerable. In this regard, they are more likely to be offended, angry, annoyed. This is especially evident at the stage of difficulties, which is often found in them.
- Left-handed people do remarkably well with various generalization tasks, however, the tendency to “grab” a holistic image of a picture, instead of analyzing it in stages, prevents them from mastering reading skills.
How not to raise a left-handed child
In no case should you engage in retraining a child. This process will result in real torture for the baby’s brain. What will be the result?
- The baby will have a delayed speech formation, various logopedic problems will arise.
- Neurotization of the child on the basis of persistent retraining increases. Its most common symptoms are loss of appetite and sleep, abdominal pain and headaches, stuttering, enuresis and the like.
- That same “topographical cretinism”, or the inability of an adult to orientate correctly on the spot, the inability to perceive the melody, the inability to dance and so on.
It is better not to focus on the fact that the child has an inborn feature. Neither the kid himself nor the people around him should see this as something unique and unusual. Otherwise, the child may develop shyness, low self-esteem and life scenario of a loser.
Remember that you should not shout at a left-handed child (in other matters, like at any other baby), otherwise he will simply become isolated and lose contact with his parents over time. The reasons for this lie in the natural increased sensitivity and vulnerability.
How to raise a left-handed child?
First of all, parents should make sure that the child does not associate failure with the fact that he writes not with his right, but with his left hand. To do this, for example, you can tell your baby about famous left-handed personalities. These were Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Julius Caesar, Johann Sebastian Bach and many other famous and talented people.
Summing up the intermediate result, we say that if the parents are finally convinced that their baby is left-handed, they should not be upset. It is better to spend your time learning how to take into account the peculiarity of the child in learning and everyday communication. In addition, the fact that the child is left-handed, it is imperative to warn educators and teachers. In many ways, the degree of exposure of the baby to neurotization depends on them.
How to behave better with a left-handed child: useful tips
- Take for granted the feature of your baby. Do not try to turn him into a right-hander. Explain to him that there are many people who do left-handed work, and this is just as normal as right-handedness.
- Do not make excessive demands on him and in no case do not contrast him with other children.
- Do not seek to grow a child prodigy, however, encourage him for any, even the smallest successes, and praise creative abilities.
- Create the child the necessary conditions not only at home, but also at school. Ask the teacher to allocate a place for him at the table on the left side so that he does not collide with the elbow of a desk neighbor. Make sure that light from a window or desk lamp hits the work area on the right side.
- Do not forget about the increased sensitivity and emotionality of your baby. Adults need to be very friendly and responsive with him.
- Get ready to purchase tools for lefties. Left-handedness becomes a problem when a child begins to learn writing. There are special pens. In the near future, he will have to sit down at a computer with a “left” mouse and a mirrored keyboard - typing text will be much easier than writing.
In the meantime, it is necessary to realize that a child with a predominant left hand is not a reason to be upset. Even if he will be scolded at each parent meeting.
The most common left-handed myths
Some psychologists believe that left-handed children are more anxious and more likely to experience emotional disorders than their peers with a predominant right hand. It is believed that left-handed babies are very painful and often suffer from sleep disorders. Psychologists say that left-handed children are prone to guilt, more shy, impractical, insecure, rude, and also have a lower level of intelligence than right-handed people.
Left-handed children: features of learning to write
First of all, parents need to pay attention to the workplace of the child. Fix attention to the fact that all elements of the table will have a special orientation.
So that a left-handed child does not block the light with his hand, he must fall either in front or on the right.
Only the right hand moves the notebook. On the letter, all elements are straight. The tilt is achieved only by tilting the sheet or notebook to the left. The plus in this situation is that the child does not cover with his hand, which should be in the position “under the line,” what he writes. With respect to the body, the leaf also moves to the left.
If at the initial stage the left-handed child learns the correct arrangement of objects on the table, as well as the rules of calligraphy, then in the future parents will be able to avoid many difficulties in teaching the baby to write.
To help children and parents: products for left-handed people
How to teach a lefty to write? Use developed tools as assistants.
Now they issue prescriptions for left-handed people. They are specially designed for "unusual" children. In these inscriptions, arrows indicate the direction of the letter. All letters must be written directly. Copybooks for left-handed people will greatly facilitate the learning process, and will also allow you to quickly teach your left-handed baby a beautiful and neat writing.
Another helper is a special pen designed for children whose left hand predominates. It has the necessary recesses for the fingers, as well as a tilt that facilitates writing. In addition, special pens for left-handed people have special inks that dry quickly, so they do not smear during writing, ensuring cleanliness and accuracy in the notebook.
In addition to these assistants, you can purchase special scissors for left-handers, erasers, sharpeners, and rulers. All lefties who have already tried these useful new products in fact say that they greatly facilitate life and training.
Products for lefties. A pen
A pen for children with a predominant left hand writes at any angle. In addition, it has a thin core and ink that dries quickly, because the thick rods leave ink traces that are smeared, because the left hand glides over the already written text.
Parents often ask whether to retrain lefty? Psychologists definitely try the no! When teaching writing, parents need to consider the sensual and vulnerable nature of their baby, remember that it is necessary to encourage and praise him more often. If you work together, you will be able to correct mistakes in a timely manner, and also to lay the foundation for proper calligraphy in time. In this case, the statement “Left-handed child cannot write beautifully” will not concern your child.
How to hold the pen?
Copybooks for left-handers will allow kids to form the skill of calligraphy and learn how to hold a pen correctly.
The baby's hand should be one straight line with the handle. A slight slope is allowed.
The left hand is under the line, but sometimes the baby is more comfortable writing in the “brush under the line” position. Some consider this situation erroneous.
While writing, the right hand moves the notebook.
The slope of the letters is achieved only by tilting the notebook, all lines of writing should be straight.
Fingers should be slightly higher when writing than children with a predominant right hand. It is approximately 4 cm from the tip.
Avoid excessive tension in the index finger: it should move freely up and down. It is better to ask the child to lift it.
Rulers and erasers for lefties
An ordinary child draws and draws lines from left to right. However, it is inconvenient for the left-hander to use the usual ruler - everything is smeared, the scale is not visible. Why? Because the child draws lines from right to left - because he is left-handed. In order for his notebook to always be neat and clean, you need to purchase a special ruler for left-handed children.
Another handy device is an eraser for lefties. He has a special form that is natural for the left hand, so working with him will not require much effort.
Left-handed Keyboard
A left-handed child will also use a computer, so he needs a convenient keyboard. Outwardly, it looks like a standard one, but the layout of some keys is different. The first thing you can notice is that the number pad is not on the right, but on the left. In addition, the Enter, Del, Page Up, Page Down, and arrow keys are located in the reach of the left hand. In addition, they are duplicated on the right. So both left-handed and right-handed users can use this keyboard.
Keyboard manufacturers for left-handed people pay close attention to ergonomics, so the keys on these models often have a special shape and a pyramidal arrangement. In addition, the keyboards have palm rests.
Special mice are also made for children whose left hand predominates. Vertical and horizontal, ergonomic, having special notches for the fingers. In addition, there is a gaming mouse for left-handed people.
Left-handed computer mouse
A computer mouse for left-handed people is a special device that is also “sharpened” for people whose left hand predominates. The shape of this device is designed so that your fingers avoid bending. The computer mouse for left-handed people was created by a whole team of doctors, engineers and physiotherapists, and was developed taking into account the position of the hand and palm in the process of its use to avoid stress in the wrists and hands.