money I’m a Leftie Raising a Left-Handed Child. Here’s What Righties Don’t Understand.
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Only about one in ten people in the world is left-handed — but the percentage is much higher just in my immediate family. My mom, my son and I are all lefties, and proudly so. Over the years, I have found that there are many pros to being a southpaw, despite us being in the minority and the prevailing assumption that lefties are at a disadvantage.
First and foremost, it’s a fun way to bond. I always notice when someone else is left-handed and, if given the opportunity, I point it out. Waiters, store clerks, teachers and colleagues that share this trait with me perk up and smile when I say, “I’m a leftie too!” It’s an easy way to break the ice and creates an instant connection.
Aside from bonding with those around me, lefties are in good company. Four of the last seven U.S. presidents were left-handed: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. So are a few candidates that ran for the presidency but lost, such as Ross Perot and John McCain. In fact, the 1992 presidential candidates were all left-handed!
Many famous people such as Oprah Winfrey, Prince William, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are lefties. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was, too. There are even quite a few leftie cartoon characters such as Bart Simpson and Ned Flanders — which makes sense given that The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, is left-handed. Anna from Frozen and Kermit the Frog are also fellow southpaws!
Rumor has it that lefties are more creative because creativity resides in the right side of the brain (and the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body). This theory hasn’t been proven, but it is true that in a right-handed world, lefties have to be adaptable and strategic — which creates lifelong opportunities to practice problem-solving, a great skill to learn at any age.
Lefties can also use their status strategically in sports. They have an advantage in tennis, baseball and boxing, for example, because righties have a tough time predicting their less familiar moves.
Lefties also have their own special day on the calendar. August 13 is set aside for International Lefthanders Day and was originally celebrated in 1976 to celebrate their uniqueness.
While I prefer being a leftie in a rightie world, there are some things that take getting used to. Now that I’m parenting a leftie myself, I pay more attention to the strategies I’ve implemented that make my life easier. Here are a few tips I give my 8-year-old son.
My son uses his left hand to write and grab items, but that doesn’t mean he wants to use his left side for everything — preferences can vary from person to person. I make sure to ask him how comfortable he is during specific activities. Some lefties kick a ball or play golf rightie. (Or both!) The same can be applied to righties who occasionally use their left, while other people learn to be ambidextrous.
Rightie instructors may get frustrated teaching a leftie. I distinctly remember my gym teacher grumbling to himself when he tried to teach me how to hold a bat. One option to make the situation easier is to have the student face the teacher instead of standing behind them, and mirror their movements. If that doesn’t solve the problem, YouTube is a great resource for left-sided tutorials and can be used as a supplement to in-person instruction. I taught myself how to crochet by following a leftie instructor online and then supplemented with local classes.
I also make sure that equipment my son and I use, including sporting gear, art supplies and even musical instruments are conducive to the left side — baseball gloves, scissors and even guitars can all be purchased specially made for lefties.
When I was younger, it never occurred to me that certain kitchen or office tools aren’t made for left-handed people. I just adjusted to using them. But being proactive about finding items that are more intuitive for lefties takes away unnecessary stress. I pay attention when I purchase pitchers (I like the ones with the spout in the middle instead of on the side), cake knives (the ones where the serrated edge is on both sides are great) and can openers (I’ve adjusted to most that are on the market, but may try one of these some day), so they are leftie-compliant. When we remember, my son and I sit at the far-left end of the table, so we don't bump elbows with the rest of our family during meals.
I flip three-ring binders over and make the last page the first page, so the metal doesn’t hurt my hand. I try to find pens that don’t smudge since we write from left to right. When I used a Microsoft computer at my corporate job, I switched the buttons on my mouse — a strategy I never considered until a fellow leftie made the recommendation. (Apple is adaptable to both lefties and righties since the track pad is in the middle of the keyboard.) I also requested a left-handed keyboard when a significant part of my job was working with numbers, since the number pad was on the left side. These are all lessons I will teach my son as he gets older.
At the end of the day, being self-aware is key. Practice having your child speak up and ask for the resources they need to feel most comfortable and be the most successful. And make sure to celebrate their uniqueness! As a magnet on my fridge growing up said, “There are a few special people in this world — the rest are right-handed.”
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