Already in the first year of life, an attentive mother might notice: for some reason, the baby prefers to grab a rattle and hold the bottle with her left hand.
Previously, it was decided to straighten out such a child, to direct him to the “right” channel, slipping a spoon or pencil to the right child. Now more and more often the opposite opinion sounds: there is no need to retrain a lefty. Yes, the modern world is adapted for right-handed people.
But your task is not to correct the child, but to help him learn to live in this “right-handed” world.
In the end, such a feature unites your baby, for example, with Albert Enschetin, Pablo Picasso and Paul McCartney.
Why does the kid choose his left hand?
When scientists analyze the reasons for this feature, they name three factors:
- genetics (although let’s say in secret, the left-handed gene has not yet been found). Children with “mirror” features are 10–12 times more common when there is at least one left-handed parent in the family.
- Nurture or injury. Perhaps someone in the immediate environment of the child was left-handed, and he began to imitate him. And the baby can start to act with his left hand because he has any problems with his right.
- Features of perinatal development. Due to injuries or illnesses before birth, “compensatory” left-handedness may occur in a baby during birth or in early infancy. If the left side of the brain has been adversely affected, then the right one will try to replace its functions and take the dominance of the left hand on itself.
Of course, if the crumbs have discomfort associated with the right hand (for example, malformations of the fingers), then he unwittingly learns to do everything with his left. But this is not real left-handedness. The choice of the leading hand determines the brain hemisphere opposite to this hand. Therefore, it is useless to influence the hands of a child in an attempt to retrain him. This is a special device of the brain, an individual inborn feature of the baby.
In general, if you find that your child is a left-handed person, there is no need to look for specific reasons. According to various statistical calculations, from 10 to 15% of the world’s population prefer the left hand.
And this is no disadvantage. This is the natural state of affairs. It is necessary to perceive this in such a way and to create at home such an atmosphere so that the child also does not feel “wrong” and “not like everyone else.”
Left-handedness and left-handedness: understanding concepts
So your child is left-handed. Or is he left-handed?
What is the difference between these two concepts? Let’s see.
- Left-handedness is a narrower concept. It implies only a leading hand. It is advisable to use it if you are talking about how it is more convenient for your child to hold a pen, brush, spoon; how he opens the door, how he uses the keyboard, how he cuts the appliqués with scissors. But if the baby’s brain is “mirrored”, it will not only affect the dominant hand. The right hemisphere primarily processes information on the left side of the body. Therefore, the baby will listen with the other ear, bring the kaleidoscope to the other eye, and walk with the other leg. To denote this, another term is used.
- Left-handedness is a broader term. It includes left-handedness. And, moreover, determines the leading ear, the leading leg, the leading eye, and so on. Left-handedness is more important in school (for teaching writing and drawing), and left-handedness is more relevant when it comes to sports clubs, dance and music clubs.
There is also such a thing as “pseudo-left-handedness.” Sometimes a dominant hemisphere that controls the opposite hand is not formed in a baby. Then the child with the same success works with his right and left hands.
How can parents understand that the baby is left-handed?
The first suspicions may arise from the parents even before the moment the crumble is six months old. But do not be alarmed, claiming that your six-month-old baby is left-handed. At this age, some children are able to use both right and left hands with equal success. By two years of life, it is already possible to draw approximate conclusions. Final left-handedness or right-handedness is formed at the age of 6 years.
So, you are suspicious that the kid chooses the “mirror” hand as the dominant hand.
What do you need to pay attention to dispel or confirm their guesses?
You can do a series of small tests for your baby: take an apple from the table, comb your hair with a comb, and unwind.
When a child is left-handed clapping his hands, he usually strikes his left hand on his right, while the lead is on top.
To determine not only the dominant hand but also the dominant side of the body, you can invite him to listen to the barking of the dog through the door (what ear will he attach to it?) Or look through a telescope (to which eye will he bring it?). If at least in 7 out of 10 cases he chooses the left side of the body as the dominant one, then it can be assumed that the child is left-handed.
No need to push your child to perform all the manipulations with his right hand only. Do not put a spoon in his right hand, put in the middle. Do not put a pencil or felt-tip pen in the kid’s hand when he is focused on drawing in his right hand.
Let him choose.
Remember that the process of forming the dominant hemisphere of the brain ends by 4-6 years. No need to draw any conclusions ahead of time.
In addition to these simple tests, you can pay attention to indirect signs. So, the “mirror” kids have such differences:
- Crumb confuses the concept of “above-below”
- he may be overly active, disinhibited (cannot stop in time), quickly distracted,
- the kid draws in one corner of the sheet (with the pictures pushing one against the other, and most of the paper remains blank).
Having established your suspicions, do not panic. Yes, it is more difficult to raise a left-handed person. But not because such a child is wrong, lagging behind, less capable.
Difficulties associated with the fact that the world is focused on right-handed. Your task is to help him learn to live comfortably in this world.
Psychological features of left-handers
Public opinion claims that the child is left-handed more capable of creative activities, but less gifted in the development of the usual educational process. This is true, but only in part.
Features associated with differences in the functioning of the hemispheres of the brain. People usually dominate the left hemisphere. It is responsible for logic, mathematical ability, sequential processing of information. At the right-handed person limp imagination and imagination. Solving a problem, he goes through a huge number of prepared templates. Lefty can also write an idea from scratch due to the imagination.
What is the difference between a child is left-handed?
- Lefties are able to perfectly navigate in space. They have a wonderful spatial imagination. From school subjects such children are usually strong in geometry and drawing; from extracurricular activities, they are well-given dances and other circles that require good coordination and “body feeling”.
- Arithmetic counting usually causes difficulties for such children. This operation requires logic and consistent thinking, and this is the prerogative of the left hemisphere.
- The mental operation of synthesis is given to them easily, but the analysis is worse. That is, the child is left-handed well summarizes. But to isolate the details of the whole picture is difficult for him. This is associated with problems in the development of reading: the kid perceives the text page as a whole image, and it is difficult for him to focus on a single letter.
- Lefties are more emotional and vulnerable. They are touchy, easily upset because of failures.
- Rich imagination and irrepressible imagination are able to compensate for the lack of logic. While the brain of an ordinary child easily solves the problem posed by the same “right-handed” teacher, the left-handed violent imagination can solve dozens of creative tasks with lightning speed to arrive at the same answer.
Helping a little lefty: what can and cannot be done to mom?
The most important thing that parents of left-handers must learn is that it’s impossible to retrain such a kid. We can forcibly shift the handle from the left hand to the right hand, but we cannot change the brain of the baby. If the parent puts pressure on the child, then this can later affect his self-esteem.
- A harmoniously developed left-hander is able to become a full-fledged and happy member of society, but the “retrained” will be subject to speech delays, neuroses, even enuresis, and nervous ticks.
- It is not necessary to constantly remind the child about the fact that he is somewhat different from the old ones. After all, then sooner or later he will begin to blame his peculiarity for all the failures, and this may be the cause of his complexes.
- It is worth remembering that left-handedness leaves an imprint not only on the learning process but also on the emotional sphere. You can’t shout, scold and criticize a left-handed person
Some children have a so-called “mirror perception phenomenon”.
They can write words backward — for example, “aloksh” instead of “school.” This is a normal phenomenon, which should go to ten years. If it persists after this age, you should consult a doctor.
Be sure to warn educators or teachers about the fact that your child is left-handed. During classes, it is more convenient for the baby to sit on the left side of the neighbor’s desk. Then classmates will not be jostled with elbows when performing written exercises.
By the way, the teacher does not have the right to demand from the left-handed person the same calligraphic perfection as from all the others. This is spelled out in the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Health. The same document stipulates that the teacher has no right to retraining the “mirror” child. You can’t demand oblique writing from a left-handed person and the skill of writing letters without taking off the pen.
So, if you notice that your baby prefers his left hand, do not rush into the panic. Yes, raising such a child is more difficult. But left-handed people have much more inclinations towards creative professions. Perhaps it is you who bring up the genius!
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