Celebrating Left Handers Day
Next week, on the 13th August, people all across the Country taking part in National Left Handers Day, a celebration of being left handed, but also a recognition of some of the difficulties that left handed people face every single day. These days, we dismiss the chosen hand as merely a quirk of nature, something in our brains that makes the choice. But in the past being a left hander was thought to be somewhat ‘sinister’ (just check out the Italian word for left), and these days left handers still face lots of difficulties living in a right-handed world.
As an ex-teacher, I always made sure I had left handed scissors and pens in my classroom to cater for those who preferred that hand, but that was about as far as my interest went. But now I have a child of my own, my little boy Joe, who seemed to not have a preferred hand until very late into his nursery year. And when he did make the choice, he proved to be a left hander.
And he does have some problems. Sometimes he can’t make felt tips and pens work properly, as he tries to push them across the page rather than pull. Scissors are difficult to cut with, it looks more like he is ripping and tearing the paper than actually cutting it. And he forms some of his letters in a different way than I, (right handed) do. To give the right handed people an insight into what it is like to be left handed, Betta Living are challenging people to take the Betta Living Challenge and have a left handed day. using utensils like can openers and bread knives, garden tools and corkscrews, even golf clubs, all which are generally designed with right handed people in mind. I think this is a great idea, just an insight into the way some people live each day with difficulties which must be very frustrating at times.
I am trying to make life a little easier for my left handed son by picking up things like left handed scissors, pens and pencil sharpeners. His school produced a helpful sheet showing how Joe will form his letters and numbers. He is already proving to have a great left foot to match his left hand, so maybe a football career awaits. I love the fact that he is special, and in good company, with Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Paul McCartney, Julius Caesar, Bill Gates and Charlie Chaplin amongst other famous, creative and talented lefties. So we will be celebrating Left Handers Day next week by getting a little insight into Joe’s world.
You can find more information about Left Handers Day by visiting http://www.lefthandersday.com/
*Collaborative post in conjunction with Betta Living to raise awareness of Left handed day.
fashion-mommy
Welcome to the world of fashion-mommy, a world of fashion, lifestyle, theatre and fun. Enjoy the ride.
9 Comments
Laura
What a great post! I showed signs of preferring my left hand up untill I was hospitalised with pneumonia at just over 2 years old. The prolonged hospital stay and the assumption I preferred my right hand meant that the splint to keep the drip in my arm was placed on my left hand. This meant I had to use my right hand for everything during my stay and has resulted in me being right handed! I think its great the school are helping so much by providing leaflets with useful information 🙂 I’ll take part in this challenge for sure! xx
Catherine Culmer
Interesting read. I’d never even heard of left handed awareness day
Cat
http://www.rockandrollpussycat.co.uk
Jenny
I had never heard of Left Handed Day but I shall look out for it!
Emma T
I’m a leftie and apart from using a cartridge pen at school, and having to face the opposite way to everyone else in racquet sport drills and throwing sports, I love it and haven’t found it an issue. My brother’s a leftie too – although he’s a bit more abidextrous on the sports side of things.
I can’t cut with left handed scissors or write with a left handed pen…and I’ve worked with a surprising number of lefties too. I was hoping N would be, but he’s not.
Sisley White
Left handed hi-five!
Most of my family is left handed and when I was little I used to do a lot left handed but was forced at school to use my right hand when writing. Now I write with my right but I do pretty much everything with my left. My writing is equally messy when I write with left or right. My dad who is a leftie should me how to do things when I was little and I did as he showed me so I have a lot of leftie habits from that too.
Sis x
Beth Twinderelmo
What a great post. I never have thought about real difficulties of left handed people. I was convinced my son was going to be as always favoured his left even at nursery but the last 12 months he’s settled with right #pocolo
Christine
I’m left handed as is my son. When I was at school there wasn’t really a concept of left handed scissors so I’ve always tended to use things in a right handed way. However the world is very much geared to right handers, I don’t think people realise quite how much sometime!
Suddenly Mummy
I’m another lefty – the only one in my family. We never had left-handed things at school either, and to this day I can’t use left-handed scissors or pens. We just had to adapt. The main things I struggle with these days are potato peelers and scissors with shaped handles – they dig into the lefty’s thumb! My son is right-handed and I feel totally ill equipped to show him things like cutting with scissors and holding his pencil properly. #pocolo
Little Button Diaires
A (left handed) high five for this post! #PoCoLo xx