Being a lefty in a right handed world

[Spacemom]

My youngest son is left handed. I'm wondering how I can help make things easier for him and what to watch out for.

any tips and tricks from the lefties out there?

[Hugin]

1. As a fellow leftie...

Get him a left handed ruler.

Make sure he's taught to write properly with his left hand.

[Spacemom]

2. Left handed ruler!

See! that's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. I never would have thought about that.

He's just now learning to write (he's 6) and I'm giving him plenty of time. I know it may take him longer to become proficent.

[BOSSHOG]

31. And scissors

My mother in law and I are both lefthanded and both were given left handed scissors as gag gifts but they do come in handy. Seating etiquette at the dinner table is also something to consider. Lefties might want to search out a seat on the end of a table where there elbow goes away from the table and not result in dueling elbows with the righty to his left.

When I was in College, the bookstore sold left handed notebooks which were used from the "back" to the "front" which is quite easy for a lefty to use.

The biggest problem he may have is that feeling of superiority lefties have over everyone else.

[Hugin]

37. Oh yeah... The elbow-at-the-table thing.

Good point!

[BOSSHOG]

44. One good thing out of this situation

When my wife's family gets together for a meal there are at least 10 people and usually a lot more and my MIL and I are the only two lefthanders so we are always seated next to each other. I tell her other sons in law that its because I'm her favorite (which I am.) We get along great.

[trof]

61. Have a good friend who's a lefty. When we eat out

I always make sure he's on MY left.
;-)

[BOSSHOG]

62. When it comes to dining people are always thinking of us

(thinking of where to put us.) I guess that makes us special.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. Dumb right-hander question...

How is a flat, straight-edged object any different for a left hander? :shrug:

[Hugin]

15. The numbers are in the opposite direction...

On a right handed ruler... The numbers start on the left.
Left handed rulers the measurements start on the right.

Makes drawing a line of a given length much easier.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Makes sense.

Thanks for answering! :thumbsup:

[Left Is Write]

55. There are a lot of things right-handers might not think of...

that are inconvenient for left-handers.

One that comes to mind immediately is the self-credit machines at most checkout stands - the card is swiped on the right, and the special pen for signing the charge is attached on the right. Many of them are actually angled for right-handers to sign too, making it really difficult for left-handers.

Another one - irons. I have an iron with a center-placed cord, but many cords are attached to the right side of the iron, causing it to get in the way and get tangled when a left-hander irons.

There are the more obvious ones also - scissors, computer mouse, coffee mugs (unless it's printed on both sides, left-handers don't get to see the picture or read the saying!), etc.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

59. Never thought of the credit card machines!

Thanks from another inconsiderate right-hander!! :bounce: :thumbsup: :toast:

On edit: At least the DU thumbsup guy is obviously lefty! :-)

[Left Is Write]

60. LOL!

I guess he is!

I don't expect right-handers to think of these things. It's below the radar, that's all.

[Hugin]

63. Well, any vending machine...

The controls are on the right... As well as, most other household appliances which
have a 'hand' to them. There's a whole lot of them which do have a 'handedness'.

[Maine-ah]

64. I had that problem (pens) at the bank.

I complained about it, and now they have a pen on each side of the teller window.

for the OP:

make sure when he writes, that his hand is under his letters and not over or doing the upside down writing thing, that way he'll never smear his letters and have ink all up and down his arm. The best way to do this, is when he's at his desk or a table, take the piece of paper he's writing on and turn it sideways (clockwise). That way, he can see what he's writing. This is how I write. It will most likely piss off his teachers. It did for me anyway, but I don't smear my letters and I have beautiful neat handwriting.

[taterguy]

3. Don't make a big deal about it

It rarely makes a difference in my life. Comes in handy (no pun intended) during some sporting things.

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. BabyG is a lefty (he's 8) and we don't really do anything about it.

When I bought him a guitar for Christmas last year I was told to get him a right handed guitar-by the pro at the shop- because left handed guitars are more expensive and a "gimmicky" kind of thing. He bats both right and left handed (MLB here we come...;)) and has never had troubles in school. I think as long as no one is telling him it's the devil's hand he'll be fine. :hi:

[chaska]

29. gimmick, my ass!

I've played guitar for 35 years left-handed. There are decent lefty guitars around these days. And if he wants to play lefty let him. That asshole salesman ... they all have the same line. I've heard it a thousand times. In a capitalist country *everything* is about money, and that's exactly why he recommends that lefty play righty. He doesn't want to stock lefty instruments that may not sell.

It's a judgment call as to whether a lefty should play righty. I'm fiercely individualistic in this area and refuse to play wrong-handed. Capitalism is trying to eliminate individuality. Fuck them assholes!

[ScreamingMeemie]

51. My son's doing just fine with his guitar... "assohole" who recommended

it to me was the professional teacher they hire...not a salesman. Thank you. We've had quite a different experience and I am glad this man saved us the money.

And, I don't really need you chewing me out when my son seems to be handling life pretty well without any adjustments. It's been no big deal for him.

Thank you for your consideration next time.

[conscious evolution]

43. A lefty guitar player I know

just reversed the strings on his righty guitar.I think Hendrix did the same.

On a side note:Didn't a record company get busted years ago for putting out a fake Kinks line up when people realized that the person who was playing Ray Davies part was noticed to be playing a right-handed guitar when Davies was a lefty who played a left-handed gutiar?

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Best friend is a leftie

She says having to do exercises first one direction (left), then the other (right), really helped her in learning at school (we took ballet together for years). Using both spheres of the brain for the same, but opposite direction physical activity, is helpful.

And here is a good site with a lot of helpful info:
http://briem.ismennt.is/4/4.1.3a/4.1.3.4.left.htm

[babylonsister]

6. Scissors! I'm left-handed and remember having lots of trouble

in art when I had to cut paper, and home ec when I had to cut material. Here's a site for products, but there are many other sites, too.

Edit to change to a US site:

http://www.thelefthand.com/

[LanternWaste]

11. Odd you mentioned scissors...

Odd you mentioned scissors. I'm a leftie and I've got no problems with 'normal' scissors. As a matter of fact, I can *only* use them effectively with my right hand. Put a pair of lefty scissors in my hand and it feels... abnormal.

[babylonsister]

12. I remember scissors being a problem in my youth.

Now, I use r/h scissors, too, but with my left hand. I guess we adjust because we have to.

[Zavulon]

7. It isn't that much of a big deal

I had to learn to cut with right-handed scissors, but used the lefty ones too. I wasn't allowed to try out to be a quarterback, and I had to forget about playing any infield position but first base. Finding baseball gloves was harder, too, even for the outfield (I had to use an outfield glove at first base). Things have changed since then.

Nowadays, the biggest problem is having to pay more for lefty shell eject on my Remington 1100 trap model. This really isn't going to affect your son much at all.

[Jamastiene]

41. Funny, the made me shortstop as a lefty and

yes, I used the glove on the right hand and threw left handed. I switched when I hit though. They hated pitching to me. I always hit it far far away. Thanks for the cool memory.

[Zavulon]

46. You're welcome. I always wanted to play third base, but no coach

would let me try.

[ScreamingMeemie]

52. BabyG is a darned fine quarterback.

Funny how times change, eh?

[BOSSHOG]

50. And having a left hand glove

meant a much lesser chance of anyone wanting to borrow it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. Tell him lefties are very highly valued in sports.

:shrug:

[tk2kewl]

10. Power tools are the biggest lefty problem

I wonder if anyone makes left-handed a skill saw or chainsaw.

[Lowell]

13. When I was in the army

i discovered that firing left handed made the brass eject into my face or over my shoulder. It took some getting used to.

[Orrex]

30. My father told me a story about his days in basic training

The DI gave detailed instructions about how righties were to perform some function with a weapon. My father, who is left-handed, sort of tuned that part out, waiting for the "lefties'" instructions.

At the conclusion of the lengthy explanation of the righties' method, the DI said "If you're left-handed, do it the other way."

And that was all.

[Lowell]

68. That's great

I got pretty much the same order. But those dumb DI didn't know anything about dominate eye. I ended up firing lefty anyway.

[Exiled in America]

14. Is this serious? I'm a lefty but I never realized it required a support group

I'm not aware that being a lefty is a big deal. It only comes with the standard rumors that being a lefty means being smarter or whatever.

The only other thing you have to watch out for is pencile smears or ink smears on your wrists from running your hand through all your words while writing. :) But you can work around that hehe.

[Sequoia]

32. But eating at the table next to a right-handed person knocks your food off the fork.

[Mad_Dem_X]

47. As a lefty myself, I just always figured

you had to adapt to a right-handed world. I never could use "left-handed" scissors, for instance. I've never used a left-handed notebook, or any of those other things meant just for lefties. I just adapted. I'd never even heard of a left-handed ruler until just now. :shrug:

[Downtown Hound]

16. It's not something you really need to worry about

The only thing I ever struggled with was finding a left-handed catcher's mit back when I used to play baseball. But now I understand they make more of them and this was before the internet. I'm sure you can find something like that online in no time.

When you're raised in a right-handed world, you simply adapt without thinking of it. I've tried those left-handed notepads and desks and things and they feel awkward to me because I was raised with the right-handed versions. As Exiled in America said, you do have to be careful of ink stains getting on your hand when you're writing something and smearing it all over the paper, especially if your hands sweat, which mine do. But there are tricks you'll learn over time on how to deal with it.

Being left-handed is no big deal.

[Mad_Dem_X]

48. Exactly

You learn to adapt.

[AngryAmish]

18. Sinister

[Xipe Totec]

23. Are you being gauche?

:evilgrin:

[Gormy Cuss]

40. That's anti-dexterous to you, bub. n/t

[bridgit]

19. welcome to the leftorium...

http://www.leftorium.com :thumbsup: even that thumb is a left-handed thumb ;)

[SteppingRazor]

20. Just tell him to remember the old adage:

If the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, then left-handed people are the only ones in their right minds!


Kidding aside, the scissors thing is definitely a big one. That was soooo frustrating for me when I was a kid. I seemed to have a harder time with zippers than most kids too. I'd suggest button-up coats.

[conscious evolution]

53. I remember a kid in kindergarden that was left handed.

The teachers tried forcing him into using right handed scissors with right hand.Of course he had problems with it.His parents got him lefty scissors.When he showed up with them the teachers took them from him and started yelling about how lefties are evil and all that type of bullshit.
The memory of that is still crystal clear 40 years later.

[Godhumor]

21. Warn him about ink smears on the bottom of his left hand

Also, tell him that the chairs with the movable desktop attached to them are the Devil's handywork.

Stupid devil.

[Orrex]

22. Humiliate him whenever he tries to use his left hand

It's for his own good.



Oh, wait. I'm left handed!

Here's a suggestion: don't try to impose any "lefties are creative" mantra on him, and steer clear of any "lefties are wired differently" nonsense. I got that all through grade school, and it never failed to make me feel like a freak.

And don't be too tyrannical about penmanship. I'm 35, and my handwriting hasn't improved in about three decades.

[Godhumor]

24. Oh come on our handwriting is incredibly attractive

Lumpy letters, smear spots, and other things are what calligraphy is built on.

Yes, I'm still bitter that they actually graded penmanship in elementary school--I never scored higher than a C-.

[pscot]

25. The "Palmer Method"

was the bane of my young existence in elementary school.

[Orrex]

27. Mine was always "Needs Improvement"

I write with the classic "lefty claw," and it's an effort of will to manage anything better than a hideous scrawl.

Damn you, Palmer method!

[leftofthedial]

26. teach him how to throw a slider

then start planning your retirement

[Spacemom]

33. There ya go!

That's my kind of thinking! :D

Actually he throws a ball (any kind, baseball, football whatever) better than my right handed child did at 6.

[Sequoia]

28. Learn to do things with right hand too.

I'm a lefty but I can sew, iron, eat, and cut with my right hand. Mainly because growing up we didn't have left-handed tools.

[Jamastiene]

34. Get him a really nice pair of left handed scissors.

My aunt got me some left handed scissors when I was about 10 years old, much to my mother's chagrin. I've never hurt myself with scissors since I got those though. That horrible indentation I used to get on my left thumb hasn't hurt since I got the left handed scissors either.

For anyone who wants to know what that is and why lefties complain about it:
If you are a righty and have a pair of scissors, try it. Use your left hand and cut up some stuff using your regular right handed scissors. After about 10 minutes, look on the back of your left thumb close to where it connects to your hand. It will have an indentation on it and it will be all kinds of red and sore.

[Spacemom]

35. I feel guilty sometimes

because I hand toward his right hand and he's constantly switching everything to his left.

I should remember this stuff! :o

[Gormy Cuss]

36. Just be aware that it may be easier for him to learn some skills "upside down"

The hardest part of growing up lefty is having adults who don't let you use your left hand as the dominant one. If he struggles and seems klutzy, it may be that the tool is designed for right-handedness or that the directions assume right hand dominance. That's the time to buy a lefty adapted tool.

I had an ambidextrous left handed parent and the approach was to try to use the right handed approach, but when that failed to try to visualize the process in reverse. When I look at photos in step by step instructions, I rotate the page 180 degrees. For some reason that helps.

The only adaptive tool that I've ever used is left handed scissors. The old scissors had contours for right hands and left odd looking welts on my left hand, but the real issue, now addressed with scissors for lefties, is that the cutting edge is on the inner face. It's similar to the issue another raised about left-handed rulers. Sure, we can use the regular rulers for most purposes and get along just fine but for good hand to eye coordination it's just easier to have one designed for a lefty.

And I remember all those lowered grades for pensmanship. Smudging letters and slanting them improperly are par for the course.

There are many tasks that I can do equally well with either hand. I use mouse devices in either hand without changing the buttons, for example.

[Dukkha]

38. Take him to Ned Flanders' Leftoruim store

[Courtesy Flush]

39. Don't give him ANY left-handed stuff!

I couldn't use left-handed scissors if I had to. I've always used the right handed ones. Why? Because that's the kind that's always available. A teacher once saw I was left handed and gave me some left-handed scissors. I couldn't use them at all.

That's a good thing. You're not always going to have left handed stuff when you need it. The simple fact is he'll have to get by in the world, period. Insulating him with a bunch of special tools just makes it harder for him to function when he doesn't have access to them (and trust me. He won't have access to them most of the time).

You will not do him a favor buying him all that stuff.

Apologies if this has already been said. I didn't read all the responses.

[Jamastiene]

49. I'd say if he has trouble, let him have the left handed scissors.

I carried mine with me in my school supplies kit, so I did have my own when it came time to cut something. Of course, back then they didn't always do the thorough searches of students because no one was going to come to school and blow everybody away. Maybe you are right after all. Although, I'll give up my left handed scissors the day someone pries them out of my cold dead hands. :evilgrin:

[chaska]

42. I always said, "One day I'll have my own house and I'll reverse the hot and cold spigots..."

(or whatever you call those). I just moved into a place where that is in fact the case, where the kitchen sink taps were accidentally reversed. Strangely (or not), after all these years of using them backwards, I can NOT get used to it.

And it is all just what you get used to. Don't worry about your son too much, he'll adapt, and it'll probably make him a more creative person in the process. For every downside there is an upside.

That said, scissors have sometimes been a bit problematic. Not bad, just sometimes when accuracy is needed.

Chainsaws too. Same thing there. There should difinitely be left-handed chainsaws.

[Hugin]

45. Definitely, chainsaws... Definitely. Left handed machete would be nice. nt

[Left Is Write]

54. I'm left-handed, but all three of my kids are right-handed.

The only suggestion I have is to make sure he knows he can turn his paper the opposite way from the other kids when he's writing. That avoids developing the dreaded "hook" writing style.

[Evoman]

56. Get him a special, left handed version of Playboy.

Its tough being a lefty, but that should make things easier for him to...ahem...read the articles.

[Spacemom]

57. Please Please Please

I do not want to start worrying about that stuff yet. :crazy:

[Evoman]

58. What??!

The people at playboy are fine writers. You don't want your son to be interested in journalism?

[ellenfl]

65. i adapted to a right-handed world. i had to because

almost nothing was designed for lefties back in the day. in addition to writing, i eat and shoot pool with my left hand but played softball right-handed.

my 2 pennies . . . make sure he gets a left-handed desk in school. those right-handed half desks that he will get in middle and high school are a pain. i had to turn my whole body to the right to use them comfortably. also, after years of using a right-handed mouse, i now exclusively use a trackball that is ambidextrous - the ball is straight up instead of to the inside left and i have it programmed for left-handers . . . eg, my cursor points to the right, not to the left. it not only works great for me but pretty much ensures that no one else will use my computer . . . righties have a much harder time using a left-handed mouse than lefties do with a right-handed one. :evilgrin:

i still only use right-handed scissors because that's all schools had back in the olden days. i have no experience with left handed scissors so i can't use them effectively. if you put right-handed scissors in your left hand, the blades are backwards and won't work properly.

as for writing, DO let him know that he can turn his paper to accommodate his left-handedness. i never wrote upside down but understand why some do . . . so they are dragging their pencil across the paper instead of pushing it. i had great elementary school teachers and never had a problem with writing.

most importantly, do not force your son one way or the other. give him the tools he needs and let him do what comes naturally. sometimes it's just easier to be ambidextrous.

btw, my left hand is more agile while my right hand is stronger. don't know why.

ellen fl

[Writer]

66. Taking notes in class...

Don't buy those silly left-handed notebooks. Reorient spiral notebooks so he's writing from the back to the front.

Mind how he cuts paper - it may be different than how he writes. I write with my left and cut with my right.

[Mnemosyne]

67. Screwing is really hard for a lefty.

Light bulbs, screws, knobs, etc...

What did ya' think I meant? :evilgrin:

[wildhorses]

69. everything and i mean EVERYTHING is upside down and

backwards

you right handed people do EVERYTHING wrong :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

70. Make sure he learns how to throw a good curve ball

or a slider.

There's a shortage of good left-handed pitchers. Baseball scouts drool over 'em.

:P

(Flip, but true.)