Should a parent be worried if a child is left handed?

   According to survey, the number of left-handed children is growing, and yet researchers still don't understand why around 10 percent of the population turn out to be left-handed. Teachers are finding out that more children at school prefer to use the left hand. Could this be a sudden genetic change in the society?, an evolution  towards an ambidextrous populace?, it's possible, of course.

  Some years ago, it was believed by even the most able of educational specialists that being left handed was wrong in some ways, that a child who preferred to use the left hand should be persuaded if possible to use the right one. 

Please, if you still force a child to use the right hand while he or she is left handed, know that you are still living in years behind, because experts agree that to be a ''south-paw'' in fact, is quite all right!. 

Being left handed is it being crippled?

     Since the pressure on children and parent has eased, statistics show that being left-handed is no handicap at all. And the latest report shows categorically that left handed children are just as capable as those who prefer the right hand. Good news! right?, so, you now know that little Johnny will do just as well as other right- handed kids, and surely can do better. View some of the world's famous left handlers here and be inspired.

What are the disadvantages of being left handed?.

   A study of left handed children shows that such children are not likely to be less intelligent, clumsier or less articulate than their right-handed peers, but they do face some practical challenges, because they just appear to be abnormal in the midst of the ''normal society''. These includes:

• They appear awkward and clumsy, simply because to had to use the wrong equipment, for many equipment are designed to be used with the right hand e.g Scissors, circular saws e.t.c
• writing difficulties: their left handedness makes writing difficult for them. So, don't be upset with their writing style, if you have one at home.
• Lastly, some scholars assented that left handedness is associated with learning difficulties, Epilepsy and Autism, why some say it is not associated at all.

Myths of being left handed

      Despite these facts, many parents do believe that there is something odd about left handedness. It could be the myths and legends about left handers traced back to the dark ages, when people using the left hand were considered to have supernatural powers, and some of them were sent away or even killed because it was thought that an evil spirit had put a spell on them.

     
   The tragedy is that, even to this blessed day, parents continue to feel uneasy when faced with this uniqueness. And some old-fashioned school teachers too, still consider the left handed child as someone who should be treated differently. They punish left handers who did not try hard to use their other hand, like they were some alien.

Effects of the punishments.

     Today, some child psychologists point out that punishing left handers is dangerous. the child, they say, was made to feel guilty and the constant nagging and punishments led to a kind of emotional crippling that some children never really recovered from. 

The most common symptom of this enforced shifting from one hand to the other is, Stammering. It is wrong, says today's psychiatrists, to make a left handed child feel different.

SUMMARY: Parents need not worry if a child is left handed, because studies have shown that being left handed is no handicap to success in life. Do not force a child to use the right hand if left-handed.