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August 13th is International Left-handed day. And so to celebrate, I am sharing as many resources for lefties that I can find. I never worked with lefties in the school system as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, so I need to refresh on how to work with lefties too.
When Will I Know If My Child is a Left-Handed?
You might be wondering when you will be able to tell if your child is going to be left-handed or right-handed? Developmentally, a child won’t really decide which hand is dominant until age 4 1/2 to 6. That is really a huge age range. It’s important for us as educators and parents to provide experiences for a child to decide which hand they want to use natural and try not to force a certain side.
A great post to read more about this is Hand Dominance – Understanding Motor Development in Children from Pre-K Pages. It’s written by an Occupational Therapist.
You may be able to tell if a child will be left or right-handed earlier by looking for the signs mentioned in this post: Is My Child Right or Lefty? How To Tell by Miss Jaime OT.
Raising Left-Handed Kids
Do you have a left-handed child in your family? Here are some tips and resources for you.
- Raising a Left-Handed Child in a Right-Handed World – Parents.com
- Tips and Tricks for Raising a Left-Handed Child – Love+Marriage
- Left-Handed School Supplies for Kids – Teach Beside Me
Left-Handed Handwriting Resources
This area is probably one of the most common trouble areas lefties can have. If you are a right-handed person, trying to teach a child who is left-handed can seem intimidating. Here are some tips for you.
- Teaching Lefties to Write – Mama OT – tons of great information and resources in this post from an OT and mom of a leftie.
- Teaching Left-Handed Kids to Write: Grasp, Stages, and Positioning – Teach Mama – Also written by Christie of MamaOT.
- Left-Handed Handwriting Pages – This Reading Mama
- Desk-Top Paper Positioner for Right & Left-Handers – The OT Toolbox
Do you have a child who is left-handed? Share some of your favorite tips or resources below in the comments.
Want more ideas like this? Check out my other posts below.
You May Also Like:
- Basics of Pre-Writing Activities for Kids
- Cursive Pre-Writing Lines & Strokes for Kids
- DIY Handwriting Toolkit
- Fine Motor Development for Ages 0-6
