About left-handedness

How many people are left-handed?

When will I know if my child is left-handed?

How is left-handedness defined?

What causes left-handedness?

Do teachers at school know how to help my left-handed child?

Are left-handers really good at sport?



How many people are left-handed?
It has been widely accepted that 1 in 10 people are left-handed. Recently, small studies have shown numbers between 12% and 15% of the population being left-handed.



When will I know if my child is left-handed?
It is not uncommon that children use both hands until they are about 4 years of age. Then again some children show a distinct preference already at the age of 1. Most children have developed a preferred writing/drawing hand by the age of 5. Whatever preference a child shows, it is important not to try to persuade them to use the "right" hand as most parents are right-handed. Let the child develop naturally, as they will only choose the hand that is better able to complete whatever they have to do. If you want to try to find out if your child is left-handed or right-handed watch them in every day situations like:
Which hand they use to reach for toys placed directly in front of them.
Which hand they prefer to feed themselves with
Which hand they use to draw or write
When trying to stand on one leg do they feel more secure standing on the left leg? (Not all left-handers are left-footers but most are)



How is left-handedness defined?
"Normally" a left-hander is defined as someone who writes with their left hand, although quite a few left-handers use the right hand for some tasks and the left for some.

If your answer is yes to these questions you can consider yourself to be left-handed
Do you use the left hand to write?
Do you prefer the left hand for the majority of key tasks?
Is your left hand the most skilful, proficient or most able hand?

Cross-dominance, also known as mixed-handedness, is a motor skill manifestation where a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others, while not necessarily being ambidextrous (two-handed), such as someone that writes with a left hand and grabs with the right. It is more common to find people considered ambidextrous who were originally left-handed, and learned to be ambidextrous either deliberately or during childhood. Since many everyday devices are designed to be only ergonomic for right handed people, many left handed people have no choice but to use the device with the right hand.



What causes left-handedness?
Many theories have been offered as to what causes left-handedness, not so many as to what causes right-handedness :).

There seem to be a genetic reason.Where both parents or the mother are left-handed there is a higher chance that there will be left-handers in the family. Two right-handed parents will produce around 9 % left-handed children, two left-handed parents around 26 % and one left-handed and one right-handed parent around 19 %.

The brain is cross-wired so that the left side of the brain "controls" the right side of the body and vice-versa. This is also the reason why left-handers are said to be more artitistic, creative, emotional and so on. These centers are located in the right side of the brain which controls the left side of the body.



Do teachers at school know how to help my left-handed child?
Many teachers do but unfortunately many don't. You should make them aware your child is left-handed and see if they have the information and knowledge it takes to support your child at school. If not maybe you can help them out or tell them where to find books about left-handedness.



Are left-handers really good at sport
Left-handers seem to have an advantage in sports demanding fast reactions and good spatial judgement since this is situated in the right side of the brain. Also left-handers are more used to right-handed opponents, then the other way around because of the 1 to 10 ratio. For some sports like boxing or fencing it can be really awkward for a right-hander to fight a left-hander if he/she is not used to this.