Previously, left-handedness in children was considered a form of malformation and re-educated children. Today we know that the ratio between right and left-handers is about 50:50. Since about 30% of those in infancy re-educate themselves by imitation, about 20% remain "true" left-handers.

Whether a child is prone to right-handed or left-handed, the first time shows at the age of about 9 months, namely, when the child starts to grasp. If you now support a left-handed child in his motor skills, it will soon be clear left. Without further promotion or suppression of handedness this is clearly recognizable at the age of 3 years. In the past, children who left everything else were consistently transformed. Today we know about the negative side effect of this habituation. However, everyday objects are still right-handed oriented. Left-handed products are only available in a few cases.

Rumors of left-handedness

Left-handedness has long been surrounded by various legends: left-handers should on average be smarter and more creative, as the right brain, which is connected with the left hand, is responsible for the artistic-emotional area. Furthermore, left-handers should have a shorter life expectancy due to an increased accident risk in everyday life. Ultimately, these results are not exactly understandable because it is not known how many actually left-handed children are retrained to the right.

Left or right handed?

As a rule, the tendency to the left or right is self-evident if it is not influenced by the education. Mostly the child is fixed at the age of three. Since ambidextrous children are very rare, a child who has not committed by the age of 4 should be consulted with an expert to determine which hand will become the later hand of writing. In addition, there are several test procedures and observations that you can use to identify which hand your child prefers. Meaningful is the observation of activities that the child exerts spontaneously and with very little educational influence: light on and off, wipe table, build a tower of blocks, watering flowers, combing. There are a number of online tests on the Internet that can be used to determine handedness.

Problems of retraining from left to right

Hands and brain are closely related in terms of developmental physiology. A child first attacks his environment with his hands. If the natural process is disturbed, as is the case with retraining, for example, this can also influence the mental development of the child. This does not mean that reformed children are stupider, but potentials may not fully develop as a result of this disorder. In the worst case, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, clumsiness, dyslexia and a bad writing can be the result. The orientation in space and the ability to differentiate left and right may also be affected by re-education.

Learning to write for left-handers

Especially for left-handed children, it is important that they learn early correct spelling. Since our writing runs from left to right, left-handers need strategies to be able to see the writing and, above all, not to blur it. To avoid this, there is often a cramped attitude of the writing hand, which can be avoided by the paper is rotated by 30 degrees clockwise. Then the child has a clear view of the paper.

Left-handedness in everyday life

Left-handers may find it difficult to use everyday items, as these are usually designed for the right hand. This applies, for example, to scissors, but also vegetable peelers, corkscrews, cameras, computer mice or musical instruments. Most children learn to adapt and can operate the right-handed tools with the left hand. It is often problematic to show the children how to deal with them when they are right-handed people themselves. These problems later spread to learning to write. How does a right-handed person show his left-handed child the right pen-holding? Not so easy, but not impossible, as evidenced by the many left-handers who can write, tie their shoes or tie ties. The simplest and best practice is to face the child or to sit down when you show something. The child can then imitate the hand position in a mirror image.

Give your child the freedom to choose his or her preferred hand. Although this poses some problems in handling certain things, it will save you and your child many other difficulties that can be resolved by retraining your right hand