Lefthandedness in children

These days, people recognize that being lefthanded is perfectly natural, even uniquely special.It is known fact that lefthanders comprise only seven to 10 percent of the world’s population. What are the odds then of my family being included in that, shall we call it, “minority?”

My two children are lefthanded, a trait they share with their dad and their lolo (grandfather). The eight-year-old has gotten used to being a lefty, and plays tennis using her left arm, which we encouraged because it is an advantage in the sport. When she learned to play the violin at age four, my mother-in-law ordered a violin specially made for lefthanded musicians from an online store. A relative from the US handcarried the instrument when she came here to visit.  (see video of Lefthand violin player).

For a while, people were curious about the child who plays on the rightmost side of the stage during violin recitals. The teachers had to put her there because the other righthanded students would constantly bump instruments with her. Even Sister Placid, Predis founder and music department head at St. Scholastica’s College, once called her “bale” (for “baligtad”).

With this special trait running in our family, we have made a few other adjustments at home and in school. When studying, the reading lamp should be placed on the left so as not to cast shadow on the page when they read. Because I am the only righthand person at home, I found it disconcerting to be always putting food items in the fridge on the right side only to find it being constantly moved to the left. When my daughter and I play tennis, I get stumped whenshe lets fly a topspin from the left, so I had to make adjustments. The writing pad on her school chair is placed on the left so my daughter can write comfortably.

I have taught my child time and again to embrace her lefthandedness and not fight it as I have learned through research that making a lefty do things with her right undermines self confidence. A lefty who is forced or “conditioned” to do things with his right not only becomes clumsy and ineffective as she is using the weaker and less coordinated hand, she also tires more easily. Simple tasks become a burden, less enjoyable and unrewarding.

My four-year-old son has shown preference for his left hand as well but at this age, his teachers say he is still ambidextrous, switching from the left hand to right hand with regularity. He crayons and moves objects with his right hand but writes and holds his feeding bottle or cup using his left. His development pediatrician,Dra. Vilma Bagay-Salcedo,  says it is not surprising for a child to have no distinct hand preference at age three to four but if he still shows a strong preference for the use of this left hand at age five, then that will be his handedness throughout his life. My son was diagnosed with delayed speech at age 2 and has been attendig speech therapy at Skillbuilders. Experts say speech impairment usually occur more often in lefthanders.

Fortunately, my son’s condition has improved. Why does handedness exist at all? Handedness is determined by the brain, not the hand. According to scientific theory, right-handed people use the left hemisphere of the brain and process information using “analysis”, which is the method of solving a problem by breaking it down to its pieces and analyzing the pieces one at a time.By contrast, left-handed people use the right hemisphere and process information using “synthesis”, which is the method of solving a problem by looking at the whole and trying to use pattern-matching to solve the problem. With this ability to process information faster, left-handers are able  to multi-task. In a recent study, it was found that there are more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people – which is the “genius” bracket. This is perhaps why there are more “lefties” in creative professions such as music, art and writing. There exists a long list of famous personalities who are left-handed. Among these are United States President Barack H. Obama (politics), Henry L. Ford (automobile manufacturing), Mark Twain (literature), Jimi Hendrix (music), Michelangelo (art),Rafael Nadal (tennis), and our very own Rafael “Paeng’’ Nepomuceno (bowling) and Emmanuel “Manny’’ Pacquiao (boxing).

Here are a few tips for parents who have left handed kids:

- Since many lefties smear what they write as a resultof moving their hand through the words, it is best they use darker lead pencil or fast drying ink pen

- Observe and see what left handed tools he needs such as left handed scissors, fast drying ink pens, school chairs, etc. Inform your child’s teacher so adjustments like seating arrangements are made.

- At any time, your child becomes vulnerable to teasing from classmates or playmates. Encourage the child to embrace his handedness.

- Encourage your child to engage in sports such as tennis, baseball, swimming (left handers adjust more easily to seeing underwater) and fencing because being lefthanded is an advantage in these sports.