Today, August 13th is International Left-Handers Day. Reports have shown that about eleven percent of the world’s population is left-handed.
Left-handed children might seem different and as a parent, they might seem difficult to raise. But this is no reason to panic or fret. People who are left-handed have turned out to be among the smartest individuals, think Oprah and Obama.
These 5 tips would help you out if you are raising a left-handed kid.
1. Accept the fact that your child is different
Support your child’s right to use whatever hand feels right. Don’t try to force her to use a particular hand, and don’t let anybody else do that, either. If you have relatives or caregivers with outdated opinions about handedness, let them know they’re not to say anything to make your child feel wrong, different, or pressured to switch.
2. Teach them how to use writing materials
Teach your left-handed kid how to hold a pencil or crayon correctly. It’s more natural for lefties to hook their fingers around the pencil so they can see what they’re writing.
Let the child hold the pencil between their thumb and first two fingers, just as a right-handed person would. The hand should be at least two centimetres up on the pencil so they don’t smudge their writing
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3. Encourage them to express their creative side
Some of the greatest artists in history have been lefties, including, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.
Studies have shown large numbers of left-handed students and professors in schools of architecture, music, arts and math.
However, this doesn’t mean that all creative subjects are easy for left-handed children. Using equipment designed for right-handers can end in frustration. Prevent the problems by investing in good left-handed scissors and smudge-free pencils and pens. Parents also can relatively easily switch the settings on computers to make a mouse or cursor more lefty-friendly.
4. Make them feel good about themselves
Talk to your child about famous people who are southpaws so he thinks being a lefty is cool. An Internet search of terms like “famous left-handers,” “left-handed celebrities” or “left-handed athletes” will bring up lots of lists to look over.
5. Educate yourself
Read books about lefties to your lefthanded kid. Seek out books for yourself about parenting a lefty, too, such as “Loving Lefties: How to Raise a Left-Handed Child in a Right-Handed World.”
