There are 10-17% of people in the world who are left-handed. As for Russia, their number is steadily growing every year. This is due to the peculiarities of the domestic education system, because until 1985, left-handers were forced to write exclusively right hand. Today, the situation has changed dramatically and no one is trying to retrain “unique” students anymore. In our article we will talk about the psychological characteristics of left-handed children, how difficult it is for them to adapt to a world “imprisoned” by right-handers, whether they do well at school and whether they need help. Let us dwell in detail on each of the above issues.
Who are lefties?
Most people on our planet are right-handed. However, as a result of the peculiarities of brain development, the leading one may become not the right, but left hand, which is also considered a variant of the norm. This is due to different activity of the cerebral hemispheres.
A left-handed person leads with his left hand. This indicates the dominance of the right hemisphere, which is called the emotional one. It is responsible for creative thinking, instant perception of an image, intuition, imagination. From childhood, such people grow up more emotional and artistically gifted. They draw and sculpt from plasticine better than their peers, and have musical abilities. At the same time, they are characterized by speech delay and difficulty in pronouncing various sounds.
The characterization of a left-hander involves highlighting such qualities as spontaneity, gullibility, and sensuality. In these children, mood changes occur instantly, resulting in tearfulness, whims, manifestations of rage and anger, and persistence.
The dominance of one of the cerebral hemispheres, and therefore the formation of the leading side of the body in a child, usually occurs by the age of five. Until this moment, children can pick up a spoon, pencil or scissors with both their right and left hands. At this time, it is important not to insist on choosing one hand or another. Then dominance will be established naturally.
Causes of left-handedness
What contributes to the fact that the child’s left hand becomes the dominant hand, and not the right? There are three main causes of left-handedness in children:
- Genetic predisposition. Heredity is the main cause of left-handedness. It is safe to say that in families where at least one of the two parents is left-handed, left-handed children are most often born. At the same time, in other respects they develop on a par with their peers and differ from them only in this feature.
- Left hemisphere damage. As noted above, the right hemisphere is responsible for left-handedness, and vice versa. Thus, as a result of malfunctions in certain areas of the brain in the left hemisphere, the child compensates for one hand with the other. First, he begins to use his left hand when performing household manipulations, and then when writing and drawing. At the same time, such children often experience speech and motor delays, which is associated with damage to the left hemisphere.
- Forced left-handedness. In this case, the child becomes left-handed due to injury or by imitating other children.
In addition, there is a separate category of people who can use both their right and left hands equally well. If such a left-handed person can detect a “problem” in early age, then it can easily be made right-handed. In this case, the cause of left-handedness is the lack of interhemispheric interaction, which is one of the features of brain development.
Psychological characteristics
It is not at all easy for a left-handed child to adapt to a world where everything is designed for right-handers. As a rule, the first problems await children and their parents already at school. Many things are more difficult for them than for their right-handed peers. This is directly related to psychological characteristics lefties:
- Phonemic hearing. The ability to distinguish different sounds in left-handed children develops more slowly than in their right-handed peers. They usually start speaking later, but often in complex and long sentences.
- Perception of space. Left-handed people are quite poorly oriented in space, they have poorly developed visual memory and motor coordination. Often such children cannot remember for a long time which hand is their left and which is their right.
- Orientation in time. It should not be surprising that a left-handed child cannot determine the time on a clock with hands. He can perceive them in mirror image for a long time.
- Control over mental activity. Left-handed children can easily invent new ways to master the world of right-handers. It is much more difficult for them to build verbal sequences and images in the traditional right-handed way. That is why they achieve the desired results in a roundabout way.
A left-handed child easily falls under the influence of his immediate feelings and moods. He is dominated by such temperamental traits as anger, timidity, conscientiousness, increased level anxiety. But at the same time, they are able to earn more than their right-handed colleagues. Among them are many artists, musicians, actors, athletes and artists.
What makes lefties unique?
The fact that left-handed people are different from right-handed people is a fact which, by the way, has given rise to many opinions about their genius and exclusivity. And every left-hander really has certain inclinations. The task of parents is to accept the characteristics of left-handers, identify their abilities in time and try to develop them. Then the child will be able to achieve high results in everything in the future.
Among left-handers there are many gifted and truly brilliant people. The most famous personalities are Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Charlie Chaplin, Aristotle, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and many others.
Learning abilities
When raising a left-handed person, you should always remember about his increased emotionality and vulnerability. The same attitude towards the child is required in the process of his education. Left-handed children need approval and praise even more than right-handed children. A positive assessment of his actions from the outside is important to him. Therefore, during the learning process, both at home and later at school, parents should not skimp on praise for successfully completed work. It is important to be able to develop optimism and an active attitude towards life in a child.
Due to their increased emotionality, left-handed children become overtired very quickly. Therefore, in the process of training them, it is important to follow the following recommendations of psychologists:
- maintaining a daily routine;
- mandatory sleep and rest daytime;
- short duration of classes (no more than 15-20 minutes for a child aged 3-5 years).
Left-handed people have a more difficult time developing familiar skills. It is difficult to teach them to do everything according to the generally accepted pattern, for example, brushing their teeth in the morning, making the bed, changing into home clothes after going out, putting their things in their place, etc. Such children do not remember the order of actions well, correct writing letters If you want to teach your child to draw or write beautifully on their own, be sure to purchase a stencil or special copybooks for children. Only in this case will the baby produce neat images or letters. Today you can even buy a guitar for left-handers in specialized stores. It will be much easier for your child to learn to play such an instrument.
Possible problems at school
Psychologists believe that children with a dominant left hand have some difficulties in school. At least during the learning process, left-handers should pay more attention to reading, writing and arithmetic compared to right-handers. These children have certain impairments in visual perception and memory. In turn, this leads to the following problems for left-handed children at school:
- writing letters in mirror image;
- slow pace of writing;
- unstable handwriting;
- confusion in geometric shapes, similar in shape;
- confusion in letters and numbers with similar geometric elements in writing.
Most parents of children whose left hand is dominant are familiar with the phenomenon of mirror movements. For some, it is expressed in the form of a mirror letter (the child begins to write the word from the end, that is, from the letter with which it ends). Other children draw, read, and perceive any other information in mirror images. At school, copybooks for children with a dominant left hand will help solve this problem.
As a rule, mirror perception occurs in children under 10 years of age. If it continues, the child may need special classes. They will help correct deficiencies in spatial perception, coordination and attention.
The problems of left-handers in school are often associated with their slow perception of information. Such a child will need much more time to write the same passage of text than a right-handed child. It turns out that a left-handed student puts more effort into penmanship, but his results are often worse. For most left-handed people, their handwriting does not straighten out and remains that way for the rest of their lives.
A simple left-handed test
Based on the test results, you can find out about the activity of the child’s brain hemispheres, which are responsible for which hand will be dominant - right or left. By the way, it is recommended to complete the tasks after the child turns five years old. Until this time, the child’s right or left hand can alternately lead.
The test tasks look like this:
- Interlace your fingers into a lock. If it's on top thumb With your left hand, write down the letter L on paper, and with your right hand, write P.
- Imagine a target in front of you and aim at it. If you close your left eye to do this, leaving your right eye open, write down the letter P on the paper. Otherwise, write down the letter L on the sheet of paper.
- Cross your arms over your chest. If your left hand is on top, write L, and vice versa.
- Applaud. In this case, left-handed children usually hit their right palm with their left palm, while right-handed children perform similar actions in reverse. In the first case, the letter L should be written on the sheet, and in the second, the letter P.
Notes on a piece of paper made during the test will allow you to evaluate whether the child is left-handed or right-handed:
- PPPP - the child is 100% right-handed;
- LLLL is 100% left handed.
Further, the percentage of dominance of the right or left hemisphere depends on which letters appear to be greater according to the test results. Right-handed people have excellent abilities in languages, reading and writing. Left-handers are more creative and emotional people. They know how to dream and fantasize better than others, have good abilities to music and fine arts. Absolutely anyone can determine the dominance of the hemispheres of their brain, regardless of whether they write with their right hand or their left.
Comparison of right-handed and left-handed people
For many years, psychologists have continually compared the abilities of left-handed and right-handed children. Based on the opinions of experts, three main theories can be distinguished:
- Mental activity in left-handers is significantly worse than in right-handers.
- The abilities of children with a dominant left and right hand are absolutely no different, either for the better or for the worse.
- Left-handed children have higher rates of neuropsychic activity and are able to quickly adapt to unusual conditions of the outside world. To confirm this opinion, psychologists cite the example of famous left-handed people Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great.
All three theories have the right to exist and only complement each other.
It is believed that interhemispheric connections in left-handers are not as strong as in right-handers. This is why they have higher creative abilities, since their imagination is not limited by rigid boundaries. On the other hand, they develop skills that require interaction between the hemispheres of the brain more slowly. If we evaluate the emotional side of left-handed and right-handed children, then the latter are characterized by a positive attitude and an optimistic outlook on life, in contrast to left-handers, who are essentially pessimists.
Do I need to retrain a left-handed person?
Just 20 years ago, a child with a dominant left hand was a rare guest at school. The fact is that already in the first grade he was necessarily retrained from left-handed to right-handed. Today things are completely different. Psychologists recommend that when working with a left-handed child, avoid retraining. Otherwise, there will be gross and completely unnecessary interference in the special mechanisms of brain activity. No one can predict or control what the consequences of these actions will be.
Retrained left-handers often experience the following neurotic symptoms:
- loss of appetite;
- insomnia;
- headache;
- fears;
- enuresis;
- stomach ache;
- stuttering;
- increased excitability;
- irritability;
- restlessness;
- lethargy;
- obsessive movements.
It should be noted that if, for a number of reasons, the leading hand is abandoned, then it must be accompanied by the involvement of the second side. In this case, playing with a ball, swimming, modeling, embroidery, knitting, aimed at developing coordination of finger movements, can be useful. It is recommended to conduct such exercises daily for 15-20 minutes.
Statistical data also shows the dangers of retraining. According to them, every third student with a stutter is a left-hander who was retrained at one time. Left-handed children often suffer from neuroses. This issue is being deeply studied to this day.
A left-handed person feels quite comfortable in a world where neither parents, nor teachers, nor peers support him and do not judge him. Such a child may well become a full-fledged member of society. In special stores today you can purchase everything necessary for the development and education of such children, from stationery to a guitar for left-handed people. This will help the child take his rightful place in right-handed society.
Note to parents
Psychologists confirm that it is impossible to change what is inherent in nature. This is wrong and unnatural. The consequences for the child in this case can be disastrous. This means that parents are faced with the task of helping their boy or girl adapt more quickly and easily to the conditions of the surrounding world.
In the post-Soviet space, separate methods for teaching left-handed people to write and read have not been developed. So they still have to adapt to the world of right-handed people. To make this process easier, parents can do the following for left-handed children:
- organize workplace so that the light source is on the right side;
- do not focus the child’s attention on tilting the letters to the right when writing;
- perform exercises with children aimed at developing motor skills and visual perception;
- have a positive attitude towards the developmental characteristics of your child.
All lessons with a left-handed student should be carried out systematically and take no more than 20 minutes. Then he needs to be given time to rest, after which he can continue his educational activities.
The characterization of a left-hander gives an idea of him as a vulnerable, emotional and creatively gifted child. The task of parents is to accept him for who he really is and develop in him all those qualities that are inherent in nature.
Every tenth inhabitant of the planet is left-handed. That is, millions of people have to adapt to the “right-handed” world, facing different difficulties every day. This is why some parents, seeing that their child takes a spoon with his left hand, think about retraining him. Let's figure out whether this is necessary.
How to identify a left-handed person?
If you suspect that there is a left-handed person growing up in your house, you need to first find out whether this is actually the case. Remember that until the age of four, children are equally dexterous in using both hands. Starting from the age of five, it is already possible to diagnose the leading hand; to do this, ask the child to perform a number of actions:
1. Open and close two or three vials with screw caps (unscrew with your dominant hand).
2. Wipe the toy, chair or mirror with a rag (the dominant hand is actively working).
3. Catch small ball with one hand (a left-handed baby will catch with his left hand).
4. Help thread the needle (the dominant hand threads the thread into the eye of the needle).
5. Clap your hands (the dominant hand is always on top).
6. Draw circles with your finger on the palm of the other hand (left-handers draw on the right palm).
7. Interlace your fingers into a lock (the thumb of your dominant hand will be on top).
8. Cross your arms in the “Napoleon pose.” The hand of the leading hand will be on the forearm of the other.
If out of eight tests the baby performs at least five with his left hand, then the conclusion suggests itself.
Causes of left-handedness
Genetic left-handedness
Even a grandmother or grandfather can pass on a tendency toward left-handedness, and if this feature is present in one of the parents, then the chance of being born left-handed increases 12 times. Such children usually do not have any disorders in mental development, since this is just a variant of the norm.
"Compensatory" left-handedness
If during prenatal development or early childhood there were illnesses or injuries that caused damage to the left hemisphere of the brain, the right hemisphere takes over the corresponding functions. Consequently, the left hand becomes dominant, and the child develops deviations in the development of motor skills and speech.
Thus, left-handedness is not bad habit and not a whim, but an individual (usually innate) characteristic of the baby. The same as eye color or voice timbre. That is why it must be accepted, and not strive to break or rebuild.
Psychological characteristics of left-handers
The differences between right-handers and left-handers are not limited to the fact that one baby uses his right hand more actively, while the other uses his left. Left-handed children have completely different methods of processing incoming information.
Experts note that little left-handers are more unbalanced and emotional, and also much more sensitive to the opinions of adults than right-handers. But already in childhood you can find addictions to creative activity, pronounced scientific interests. Child psychologists note that left-handed babies later begin to distinguish between where the left is and where Right side. Therefore, they often write and read letters and numbers not only in reverse, but also from top to bottom. They may have difficulty mastering reading and writing. They usually pronounce their first words later than their peers, and the pronunciation of sounds causes some difficulty for little left-handers.
What not to do?
Most importantly, do not try to turn a little left-handed person into a right-handed person, and also do not punish him in any way for preferring the “wrong” hand. Shifting a pencil from your left hand to your right every time means transferring the innate and already established functions of the right (leading) hemisphere to the left. Due to retraining, children may develop speech problems, sleep disturbances, enuresis, and various neuroses.
There is no need to see left-handedness as something unusual, much less bad. Constant reminders, as well as unnecessary attempts at retraining, will lead to low self-esteem.
Don't yell at your child. Due to increased impressionability, he may withdraw into himself, which will lead to poor relationships with surrounding adults and peers. Solve all your accumulated problems with the help of games.
What do we have to do?
Little left-handers have poor spatial orientation and constantly confuse their hands. Buy your child a watch (schoolchild) or a bright, beautiful bracelet (preschooler). Or make an unusual bauble with it. The hand on which the bracelet flaunts is the left, leading one. With such a reminder, he will quickly remember the necessary information.
From the very youth teach a left-handed person to work with both hands. All hobbies and games that involve both the right and left hands will help here: playing with a ball, practicing musical instruments.
Pay attention Special attention reading and writing. Left-handers tend to mirror or read from the middle of a sentence. Develop the habit of writing and reading from left to right using story pictures or regular game blocks.
Organize the life of a left-handed child taking into account his basic needs, for example, the light from a lamp or window must fall on the right. You can also purchase special accessories and stationery for left-handers: scissors, copybooks, computer mice etc.
Tell stories about the world's most famous left-handers who, despite (or because of) their disability, achieved unprecedented heights. Leonardo da Vinci, Ivan Pavlov, Johann Sebastian Bach, Albert Einstein, Nikolai Leskov and many others were left-handed.
According to experts, there are much more gifted and even brilliant people among left-handed people in percentage terms. Perhaps it is in your family that a second Einstein is growing up. Take a closer look at your baby and help him realize his creative potential. Just don’t overdo it with “implementation” by enrolling him in all the circles at once. He is, of course, special, but you shouldn’t deprive him of his childhood.
If you're raising a left-handed child, don't worry or exaggerate. possible difficulties. Treat this uniqueness positively and do not try to change it. And perhaps his name will soon appear on the list of great left-handers.
