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What to do When your Child is Left-Handed

Obama is left-handed–and he's not the only left-handed superstar. Here's why it's great to be a leftie and what you need to know about raising a left-handed child.

by: Nancy Ripton

arack Obama isn’t the only famous left-hander. Four of the last five U.S. presidents have been left-handed. (The righty was George W. Bush.) In fact, a large percentage of the world’s creative geniuses, ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Jimi Hendrix, are left-handers. While being a leftie has some advantages, it also comes with it’s own set of drawbacks. Here’s what you need to know to help your leftie get ahead.

The cool thing about lefties

The right hemisphere of the brain controls left-handedness. And while it’s overly simplistic to say all left-handers excel in right brain functions, such as spatial awareness and perception, 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.

Since just 13 percent of the population is left handed, lefties must learn to function in a right-handed world. “Left-handers need to do most tasks back-to-front, with equipment that wasn’t made for them,” says Lauren Milsom, author of Your Left-Handed Child. They learn to be very adaptable which can pay off later in life when it comes to problem solving.

Here’s what your need to know about raising a left-handed child: