Children in our current educational system often are not taught how to correctly hold their pencil. This will help with developing dynamic finger movements and proper wrist position later down the road so your child is less likely to “hook” his wrist like lefties are known to do. This can obviously impact kids negatively and confuse them, so teach them to be able to communicate the fact that they are left handed.ģ) Encourage use of the “tripod” grasp (pinch pencil with index finger and thumb, rest it on the middle finger) just like righties do. Sometimes well meaning classroom volunteers and even teachers will switch kids’ pencil to their right hand because they may just assume the child is right handed. If you allow him opportunities to explore using both hands, he will most likely develop a preference and eventually dominance that utilizes whichever hand demonstrates the greatest skill, strength, and dexterity.Ģ) If your child truly has established a left-handed dominance, make sure he knows and can verbalize the fact that he is left handed. Don’t “force” your kiddo to be left handed because you’re afraid of what might happen if he ends up switching to the other hand. If you have a toddler or preschooler who is exhibiting a left-handed preference, it’s possible he could still switch over to become a fully right-handed writer by the time he reaches Kindergarten and begins formal writing instruction. Here are a few tips for teaching left handed children to write:ġ) Remember that hand dominance is not expected to fully develop until the Kindergarten years, between ages five and six. If you are teaching a left-handed child to write, don’t be scared! To be honest, there really isn’t that much difference between teaching right-handed and left-handed children to write, though there are a few important things to keep in mind. I have found that people are often intimidated or confused about how to teach left handed children to write. As a pediatric occupational therapist, I work with kids on handwriting all the time.
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