Never ask your child to change Hand Preference

Forcing a child to change his hand preference and ask him to user his other hand, is like to go against natural dominance. Normally, in such cases our brain gets confused. Also, it can have very bad effects in later life as well as your child can be a traumatic at some time time.

Parents are Skeptical about Left-Handed Kids

Left-handedness in kids raises apprehension in everyone especially in Asian parents. In countries here, parents usually do not prefer their kids to be left-handedness. Perhaps, left-handed people are evaluated as less skillful just because their mode of action looks different from that of the right-handed people in most cases.

Parents and teachers forcefully make a child to use right hand, as the left hand is presumed to be an evil hand and the right hand is considered lucky. This is not common in western countries but in Asian countries like India its a usual scenario.

Society Psychology on Hand Preference

Also Read: How to Reduce Writing Difficulties of Left-Handed Kids

We have seen parents in some families who rap the knuckles of their left-handed children, and sometimes even tie their left arm behind their back to make the right hand the only usable hand.

We can recall how our next door neighbors would snatch pencils out of their daughter’s left hand by saying, “No! Write with your right hand only!”

Left Handed People are made fun in some Countries

Unfortunately, left-handed people have to cope with disparaging nickname about being left-handed. If you trace-back to history, you will be surprised to know that primitive population had equal proportions of right and left-handedness.

But with evolution, owing to cultural beliefs or innate factors, preference gradually changed to the right hand. With due course of time right hand acquired greater agility and was passed down through the generations.

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Role of our Brain in Hand Preference

If we look into the anatomy of our brain, we would find that it is divided into two halves known as right and left hemispheres.  Both are parts are separated on functional grounds and “cross wired”  to the body with different tasks. Left hemisphere controls the right side of your body and right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. Though this information is still a matter of controversy amongst neuroscientists.

 

The left hemisphere deals with logic, words and languages, mathematics, science, order/pattern perception, practical and reality. The right hemisphere deals with imagination, creativity, spatial perception, “big picture” orientation, symbols, images and feelings.

It is said that if the left side of the brain of a person is dominant, the person prefers right hand and vice versa. Naturally left-handers should always be left to develop in their own way and be allowed to write left-handed if that is their choice.

International Left-Handers Day-August 13

The age of hand dominance has been debated for decades and its a question of debate that what is the age at which our hand dominance becomes a salient trait. But with the consensus maintain that a 5 years old child begins to have stability in hand preference.

To celebrate the left hand preference, every year International Left-Handers Day is celebrated on August 13.

Famous Left-Handed Personalities

Many international renowned personalities were born left handed like – Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tom Cruise, James Cameron, prince William, Pele, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Neil Armstrong, Marie Curie, Aristotle etc.

In India , we have many lefties who  have ‘left’ our nation proud – Prime minister Narendra Modi, Father of Nation-Mahatama Gandhi, Sachin Tendulkar, Ratan Tata, Amitabh Bacchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, Mother Teresa, Mary Kom etc.

Side Effects of Forceful Conversion of Hand Preference in Child

Studies have found that this forceful conversion can cause multiple problems in the developing left-handed child, including learning disorders dyslexia stuttering another speech disorders.

Upon searching on the issue further, we found an article written on a website, exclusively dedicated to left handed people. Article enumerates some of the effects people have reported to them from being forced to change their writing hand as a child:

Also Read:
Difficulties faced by left-handed people