We live in a right-handed society. Thus, our right-handed society has created hand tools, machines, and even doors without much regard for left-handed citizens; but, this is changing. The number of left-handed children has increased in recent years due partly to parents and schools not discouraging and retraining children showing a preference for using their left hand as has happened in the past. Left-handers now make up between10-15% of the population, and recent studies indicate that this percentage is rising. School teachers and parents should instruct left-handed children with as much guidance and help in their handwriting development as for those who are right-handed.

We do not choose our handedness or dominance. It chooses us. As children, when our fine motor skills are developing, our handedness or dominance reveals itself. According to the Handedness Research Institute, forcing a child at the readiness or early primary level to use a hand that is not comfortably dominant can be disastrous to the child’s writing and possibly to the child’s learning ability and personality. If a child uses both hands equally well, it may be better to train the right hand for handwriting. However, if there is doubt as to which hand is your child’s dominant one, several procedures can help reveal his or her preference.

If your child reveals that his or her left hand is dominant, teach him or her how to write properly using the left hand. More so than right-handers, left-handed children will develop an uncomfortable, inefficient, slow, and messy way of writing if they do not learn proper handwriting techniques. If a child develops bad handwriting habits, they can be very hard to correct.

The most important factors in teaching handwriting to left-handed children are: the position of the paper, the position of the arm and wrist, and the grip on the writing tool. If not trained properly, left-handers will often develop a “hooked” style of writing because they are trying to see what they are writing and not smear what they have just written. Parents or teachers may insist that their left-handers maintain a right slant to their letters; however, a right slant should not be mandatory; upright or left-slanted letters are perfectly acceptable.

The following instructions are for preparing the left-handed child for handwriting.

Many left-handed children have a tendency to “mirror write” (write left to right and backwards).The teacher or parent can help a child overcome this by placing a mark on the left side of the paper indicating where to start writing.

If your child is a beginning writer and has already developed bad habits (i.e., a “hooked” wrist or “ulnar” or four-finger grasp), you or the teacher should try to re-educate him or her. The parents and teacher must agree on a process and work closely with the child. Explain that you’re going to show him or her how to write easier and that it will take a few weeks to master. Demonstrate proper grip, paper position, arm and wrist position, etc. Work closely and frequently at least 10 minutes per day. Old habits are hard to break and replace with new ones. The child should have no other lengthy writing assignments until he or she becomes comfortable with the new writing style and begins using it spontaneously. Give the child lots of encouragement and support, as this can be a frustrating and difficult period.

School districts adopt different types of handwriting programs. Check with your child’s school to see which type of handwriting program is in use in your district. Cursive and manuscript letter formation guides for left- and right-handed students to practice at home are available online as well.