should I encourage Brennon to use his right hand rather than his left?

Helen - posted on 05/25/2010

This just in from a guy who sings in the same choir as me and is a consultant (attending) child psychiatrist at our local hospital; a study of people who were forced to use their right hand when they were actually left handed showed lower self esteem and lower overall academic achievement. His advice is not to even try it. You've never actually said why you thought of doing this. My guess was that an older relative put the thought in your head, just as my grandfather tried to do with my mother when I turned out to be a leftie.

Chrissy - posted on 05/24/2010

I would also say to let nature take its course! Im left handed and have never had any problems with it. My mom said she tried to teach me a little to write with my right hand but it just didnt take. I also wouldnt worry about left handed stores or anything, I made it through school perfectly fine with right handed scissors.

Amanda - posted on 05/24/2010

As everyone else has already stated, there's no reason in the world to make your child choose to be either left or right handed. They will choose whichever is most comfortable and if he is ambidexterous then more power to him, that's great!! Unfortunately, I too was a casualty of the pick one or the other mentality. It was not my parents who made me choose but the teachers in my school. I say, let the kids do their own thing in this particular area of development, why fight nature when you don't have to? Good luck!! :)

Lisa - posted on 05/22/2010

no let him be a leftie - i am a leftie and a teacher he can use whatever hand he wants it makes no difference

Andrea - posted on 05/22/2010

Looks like my twin girls are left handed! they use it most often to eat and color. Also see them kicking balls with their left feet sometimes. I am just letting nature take its coarse. i dont wanna interrupt their natural sence.. I would prefer them to be righthanded because its easier overall. but if thats what they were born to use then i would feel bad trying to change it.. i dunno just my oppinion :) hope it helps..

Rozalyn - posted on 05/21/2010

Let him do things with whatever hand he chooses. I think lefty's are super special and I'm hoping one (or both) of my sons will be left handed like their father!

Stacy - posted on 05/21/2010

My daughter is left-handed. We let nature take its course and she uses the left about 75% of the time and the other 25% is right handed. I am hoping that even though she favors her left hand, that maybe she will stay ambidextrous. She does a lot of things that way, she can throw a ball both left and right, among a lot of other things, so i am hoping she will be able to continue that way.

Christine - posted on 05/20/2010

My son is left handed too! There is absolutely nothing wrong with being left handed!!

Cindy - posted on 05/20/2010

My son is in the same situation. He is capable of using either hand, but favors the left. I was told that I should encourage him to MAKE THE CHOICE one way or the other.Allowing him to switch back and forth was going to create developmental delays.



Simple test hold a pencil/pen/crayon/whatever directly in front of him. Ask him to grab it, which ever hand he naturally reaches out with most times is his dominate hand.



Question if he mainly favors his left, why would you force him to use his right? There is nothing wrong with being left handed. If he mainly uses left, then let him be left handed and encourage him to stick with left hand ONLY(when writing at least).

Heather - posted on 05/20/2010

I would never think of forcing either of my kids to choose the hand that they are not. I was forced in to right handedness. My 3 yr old has no hand preference yet and I let her use both. my 17 month old is lefty from day one

Lindsey - posted on 05/20/2010

That's fine. he will prefer one particular hand when he starts school, but may grow up being able to use both!
encourage him to use both if he can as this is really good for his fine motor skills.
Clever Brennon!
xxx

Kristen - posted on 05/20/2010

Definitely not! This is an antiquated and ignorant approach to raising a child, by forcing a child to use one particular hand when they either use both or favour the opposite one, you will only cause problems for them. There is nothing wrong with being left handed or ambidextrous! Heck, I wish I had more use of my left hand because I am totally right hand dependent basically and I now have tendinitis problems due to this!

Tamára - posted on 05/19/2010

I think that you should let him (alone) decide which hand he wants to use. It is a huge advantage using left handed (science says that left handed are clever than right handed).
Lucky you!

Helen - posted on 05/19/2010

Whatever for? About a hundred years ago or so it was believed that we lefties were the children of the Devil but I'm pretty sure most of us aren't really! Ask yourself, please, how you would feel about being forced to use your less dominant hand. Would it inhibit you? Would it make things uncomfortable and more difficult than need be? I think that;s a yes to both. And please, when he starts to write, just let him make a hooky left hand if he wants to. It's the only way a leftie can see what they're writing and makes it less likely to smudge. Incidentally, it works quite nicely for one B.H. Obama. (Watch him next time you see him write on TV). Just google for left handed stores (rulers with the numbers the other way and a nice pair of kiddie scissors?) We're also supposed to be more creative (see Leonado da Vinci for further details) and we're definitely cuter! Remember, we have a right to be left!

Lorraine - posted on 05/19/2010

I would let him use the hand he prefers. As a left hander there is nothing wrong with being a left hander. My hubby is also left handed and our 2yr daughter is right handed. That is the hand she prefers to use and I wouldn't persuade her to be left handed either! xxx

Fleur - posted on 05/18/2010

Let him be left-handed!!!



I am a natural left hander myself, unfortunately that was never good enough for my parents either. All I heard when I was younger was "right hand", "Fleur, use your right hand". My First Grade teacher commented in my school report that "Fleur, needs to be constantly reminded on how to hold a pencil".



So I was basically forced to write right handed- which I still do today, however I have had co-ordination issues because of it my entire life. I am nearly 35 years old. I do most things very slowly and am therefore unable to do some jobs (eg- I could never be a secretary or receptionist).



Now I do write right handed (I can write with my left hand too but I guess I'm used to using my right) but I do most other tasks with my left. I bet most people are unable to do that with their weaker hand.



My 3YO son is also showing some left handed tendancies but I am not going to confuse him. There is nothing wrong with being left handed. This is the 21st century after all, its not the 1800's when it was cosidered a sin and you were damned to hell because of it.



I am sure that if someone told you that you were not allowed to write right handed and said that you had to use your left, you would not like it, would you?



Just let him be:)

Alicia - posted on 05/18/2010

They say it is more harmful that helpful to try and make a lefty a righty. My son is soon to be 4 and is left handed. Some kids switch by themselves, depending on how old your child is they may just be trying to figure out which hand feels more natural to them.

Amy - posted on 05/18/2010

My son showed a preference for the left hand at a little over a year old. I asked his doctor and he evaluated him and said that everything was fine. He told me that he is just going to be a major league pitcher. lol

Michelle - posted on 05/17/2010

Dont try to force one hand or the other most kids are ambidextrous till they are 2 or 3 and then there primary hand takes over so just let nature take its course.

Jenn - posted on 05/17/2010

both of my parents are lefties and when they entered school in the 60's were forced to try and learn to use their right hands. It never took (because that really just doesn't work) so they are totally natural lefties. When I was 6 and still hadn't chosen a dominant hand my teacher taught me to write with my right hand but to this day I still do everything else left handed (swing a golf club, using utensils, wiping the counter, etc) and to be honest it's rather handy to be able to use both hands for most jobs!

Alicia - posted on 05/17/2010

you should acctually encourage both because it helps with brain and creative funtions! scince both hands connect to the opposite brain

Lyndsay - posted on 05/17/2010

Let him use whichever hand he's more comfortable with. They make left-handed scissors, he'll be all right.

Samantha - posted on 05/17/2010

my daughter and son are both left handed, there is nothing wrong with it..I laugh at myself when I see children wruiting with their right hand and I find it weird cause I am so used to my kids being left handed. Let the child be whom they are.

Jessica - posted on 05/15/2010

Don't force him to use the hand he's not comfortable using. My son is 4 and uses his left hand to do most things. He will be my lefty when it comes to writing b/c he uses stuff with his left more than his right.

Teresa - posted on 05/14/2010

My first son was left handed until his kindergarden teacher MADE him use his right. I was so angry when i found that out. It not only slowed his thought process cause he had to think about which hand the pen went into but to this day (he will be 13) he has "uncertainty issues". Never make your child do the opposite of what is natural!! Why would you want to anyway??

Amanda - posted on 05/13/2010

I have a lefty. She will be 2 and a half in June. She uses her left when she eats, draws, does puzzles. I was kind of like "what?" I was not expecting that. No lefties on my side of the family or my husbands. He has 6 nieces and nephews and only one is left handed. So my little one is special.

R. - posted on 05/13/2010

Your child will decide which hand will be his dominant one. I do not feel there is any need for concern, young children love to explore with both of their hands. Encourage your child in everything he does, regardless of which hand he decides to use. Good luck, I hope this helps.

Debra - posted on 05/12/2010

My husband has had 6 other children and he has always encouraged them to be right handed, his youngest girl was apparently favouring her left hand when she was a baby but he changed it to right, but with our three year old I have said that we will not force the outcome as there are many theories as to which is better. Many say that left handed people are higher achievers, will go alot further and aim higher than right handed people. So my question is why deny the child the opportunity? I would rather give them a chance to be who they want to be rather than force them into being something they are not. To suppress them this early on in life might have greater consequences. Hope this helps

Rita - posted on 05/12/2010

Thank you all so much for your answers

Jennifer - posted on 05/11/2010

Children start out being ambidextrous and their favored hand is not something we should try to control. My son is 3 1/2 and prefers using his right hand but every once in a while he still uses his left. He is starting to learn on his own that it is easier to draw, write, or even throw a ball when he uses his right hand. I wouldn't encourage him one way or the other. It's something we can't control and it would be very awkward and uncomfortable for him if he's left handed and is forced to be right handed. My sister is left handed and is very talented. She does calligraphy, needlepoint, knitting, cake decorating, and more.

Sarah - posted on 05/11/2010

You can't control which hand people use to do things. That is what makes people who they are. My husband, I, and my son are all right handed. My daughter is left handed. That is what felt comfortable to her when writting. She plays ball and does other things right handed and that is what felt comfortable for her to do. I would hate to have someone push me to use my left hand when it did not feel right to me and made it harder for me to do things.

Joanna - posted on 05/11/2010

He could just be naturally left-handed, so just let nature take it's course!

Lisa - posted on 05/11/2010

Let him use whatever hand he wants. There's nothing wrong with being left handed