Stories of left hands being tied behind children’s back to force them to write with their right hands are common in the older generation. Thankfully, the left-handed child is now seen less as a sign of something wrong and more as a physical trait.
A frustrated parent tells me over the phone: “My child’s teacher told me that my left-handed child needed to learn to write with his right hand. My child is now seven, has terrible handwriting and is having to go to occupational therapy to relearn how to write. What is this all about?
When I did a quick survey among teachers to ask what they do differently in the classroom to accommodate the left-handed child? “We have left-handed scissors”, was the reply. “And what else?”, I asked. The room fell silent.
For more info about being left-handed, read our Left of Centre article
What’s the difference between a right- and left-handed child?
Let’s start at the beginning. What are the actual differences? Are left-handed children less able to perform all tasks – such as drawing, cutting, writing, throwing and catching – with their left hands? Not necessarily. A child is left-handed when he or she performs the majority of – not necessarily all – tasks with the left hand, says Diane Paul, author of The Left-handers’ Handbook. It is, therefore, very common to find children who write with their left hand and cut with their right, causing confusion among parents and teachers. What can then make matters worse is when teachers or therapists insist that the child uses one hand for all tasks, creating a confused dominance where, before, there possibly wasn’t one.
Fine motor skills
According to research, left-handed children are more likely to enter some form of remedial therapy than their right-handed counterparts. Why is this? Do we assume that left-handed children are less able to perform general fine-motor tasks – such as cutting, drawing and writing – than their right-handed peers? Or is it because teachers and parentsare not educated in how to teach these skills to left-handed children correctly and, thus, need additional help ourselves?
The Left-Handers Club in England undertook a worldwide school experiences survey and it was interesting to read that as many as 88% of the respondents reported problems with writing. The main issues were the smudging of work, aching hands and writing slowly. It is often assumed that left-handers are more likely to have untidy handwriting and a “hooked grip” when writing.
Teaching left-handed children writing skills can be challenging. In some countries, teachers have been given guidelines to help them teach left-handed learners. These teachers have had enormous success and have found that left-handed children can also have excellent fine-motor skills.
Supporting the left-handed child
What happens to the left-handed child who doesn’t receive the right support? If a six-year-old is placed in a classroom with no other left-handers and is given equipment only designed for right-handed use and, subsequently, takes longer to perform certain tasks simply because he or she hasn’t been shown correctly, it will affect that child’s self-esteem.
How can teachers and parents ensure they do what they can to teach a left-handed child correctly?
1. Firstly, ensure children have the correct hand formation and pencil grip. The hand and wrist should be straight and pointing to the line on which they are writing. Angle the paper about 30 degrees clockwise. This will ensure they don’t smudge their writing.
2. Secondly, if you are demonstrating a task, do so from a left-handed child’s perspective. It can be quite confusing for a left-hander to try to copy a task demonstrated by a right-handed adult.
3. Thirdly, teachers should consider putting left-handers together in a class – this will mean they can use the same equipment and workbooks, they won’t bump elbows when they write and they will feel less isolated.
4. Lastly, learn everything you can about your children’s left-handedness. Teach them in a way that allows them to learn – with the right equipment, knowledge and instructions. You never know, that little lefty of yours could become one of the many left-handed presidents, business leaders or professional sports people.
Want to know why hand writing is still important? Read more
Denise Pape
