Barack Obama is left-handed. Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed. M.C. Escher was left-handed. Matt Groening is left-handed. Queen Victoria was left-handed. Jimi Hendrix was left-handed.
And so is Jaia. Not a bad crew to be hanging with though. What’s more, a large percentage of history’s creative geniuses were/are left-handed. Go Jaia!
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It’s not something I paid much attention to until others started to point it out to me ALL. THE. TIME. I still don’t see much of an issue with it, but I guess it does complicate her life just a touch more than a right-handed person. A touch.
The really cool thing about being left-handed is that, according to an article I read, “the right hemisphere of the brain controls left-handedness, and therefore, lefties do seem to have an advantage in right hemisphere functions such as visual concepts, creativity, art, music, and sports requiring good spatial judgment and rapid reactions”.
Apparently, only 13 percent of people are left handed, so lefties just have to learn to function in a right-handed world. They need to do most tasks back-to-front, with equipment that wasn’t designed for them. The result: they learn to adapt ,which can pay off in spades later in life when it comes to problem solving.
My brother is left-handed and I watched him struggle to use ‘normal’ scissors or to not smudge his writing when using pencil (or certain wet ink pens) or to have to make sure he had his own hockey stick when we played in the streets…but really, it didn’t seem all that bad. He just adapted. And Jaia will too.
Some facts:
- 75 percent of left-handers have two right-handed parents
- Four of the last five US presidents are left-handed
- Left-handers need to do most tasks back-to-front, with equipment that wasn’t made for them.
- Most children show a preference for their right or left hand by age three.
- Teaching proper left-handed writing technique from an early age is essential.
So there we go. A wee challenge as Jaia begins to write and use scissors. But also a cool advantage in the creativity department. The next guitar great or world famous artist? You just never know.
Auntie Kris - Uncle Kurt is a lucky lefty as well and is not only brilliantly creative, but excellent with scissors. 😉
aunt michelle - Hi, just thought I’d let you know cousin Meahgan is a lefty and so is Aunty Ellen, and they manage splendidly.
contributor mark - I’m a lefty. So is Ned Flanders.
Sarah - Both my kiddos are left-handed. Gives Kayleigh an advantage in hockey too!