Right Handed Parents- Left Handed Baby. EEEK

My Nephew is a lefty and his mommy is right handed. She found a book at the library that gave her a bunch of ideas on how to help him. It worked great for her. Good Luck!

My daughter decided she would be left handed around 2 yrs old. I am also left handed and I do see what you mean by things looking backwards when you teach them. Sometimes she writes totally backwards because when they write with thier left hand they move and it covers up what ever they have just written. I really wouldn't be concerned though. As long as he practices tracing letters, he'll catch on soon enough. All of us left handers did sometime or another.

T., my son did the same thing when he was little, so I just let him do which ever hand felt right, even when we did preK activities, but now he is 7 and he does everything right handed and his hand writing is beautiful, he just stopped using his left hand one day and decided to use the other!

I am a lefty. My mom had the same problem you are describing and she was in the minority in the 1970's. Most moms conformed to the "force to be righty". She faught with many a relative and school administrator for that Lefty daughter to be a lefty. She let me learn how to do things on my own and develope that myself. Today she has two very artistic children. Me-- Culinary Artist/Pastry Chef and my brother, Professor in Art and Design at the University of Colorado. Bottom line, she let us be ourselves and find our own artistic side of the brain. My brother, more than me had to fight for his identity and can write/draw with both hand. He is a genius in many areas mathmatical and artistic. My advise, what she did, she didn't sweat the small stuff. She let us learn in our own ways how to do things. I would mirror what she did by looking at her across the table. I write upside down but am a calligrapher! It isn't bad to let him learn on his own!! If anything it will teach him to be a problem solver. Chances are that when he starts writing, there will be a child in his class who is writing with the same hand. Let him connect to that artistic side of the brain!

T., you are getting yourself worked up over nothing. I have 4 children with one of them being a lefty. In todays society it isn't as hard as it was years ago. There are tools for left handed people if needed. When eating hand your child the spoon/fork and they will place it in the hand they perfer and learn to feed themself just like every other child. When it comes time to writting it is no different, they will learn how to position the paper that is most comfortable for them. You might have to tell the teacher not to change the way they hold their hand when writting as some teachers do try to make them hold their wrist/arm/hand a certain way. My daughter's teachers tried to make her hold her hand/wrist a certain way while writing and it caused her to have wrist pain and I had to tell the teachers to leave her alone and let her write the way she wanted to. We did have to practice penmenship a little more than with the other 3 but that was due to her being lazy and sloppy. My daughter has learned how to crochet and do all kinds of things. Just don't try and get behind your child and teach them, stay across from them and thay way you are modeling the same hand as they will be using. Get left handed sizzors for school or make sure they are either handed sizzors(makes it easier)other wise don't sweat it as it really isn't all that much of a problem. (By the way I had a brother that was a lefty and my dad was a lefty)Just pay attention to the way you seat them at the table so you don't bump elbows with the person beside you.
goodluck. :)

I'm left-handed, and I can tell you that teaching and learning will NOT be hard. For example: go right now and get a fork. Hold it properly in your left hand. You don't have to eat with it or anything. Just hold it there. Not hard, is it? And if you do it for a few minutes every day, it will feel perfectly natural. Now you're ready to show your son how to hold a fork! Same thing with a pencil. You just have to show him how to hold his fingers around the instrument. He will get the fork to his mouth, and the pencil across the paper, without having to track your every movement.

My son is now 12 years old and he's left handed. At first we went through the same feelings as you, but as time went on we realized it wasn't really that big of a deal. When we wanted to teach him something we would have him sit across from us and show him for example how to tie his shoes. He would follow our lead exactly but with his left hand, because that is what he saw. And as he started school we talked to his teachers to get them to work with him and not make him feel strange because he was left handed, and he's been doing great ever since.

Actually, a lot of things are *easier* to teach to someone who is "opposite-handed" because you can work face to face with them and everything is like a mirror.

Your right hand will be directly across from his left hand, and he will *not* need to flip things in his head, or watch you sideways.

...and, when/if he gets into sports, being left-handed can be a real advantage. Moving, shooting, kicking, etc. with the opposite hand will be the exception, and opponents will be much less used to it.

There are positives here. :-)

I am the only lefthanded person in my immediate family. The only thing I found hard was learning to cut w/ siccors, they didn't offer left handed siccors at my school, so now I cut with my right hand. I dont believe I had any problems learning how to write or anything else. I dont think I would worry about it all that much to be honest.

My husband and I are right handed parents with a left handed child, a right handed and an ambidextrous one[ 3kids].
RELAX. Your child will be FINE.There were some things i couldn't teach her but she figured it all out on her own.
You will have bigger worries than that in raising your child. Don't sweat the small stuff.Ours are 14, 12 and 8 now. hope that helps.
A. R

Hi T., my husband & I are both right handed, and our oldest son is left handed (he is 14 now), he has many advantages over right handed people when it comes to sports, he is a sports junkie, most things are designed against right handed people, he has the advantage on the golf course, baseball, and alot of football plays and "lefties" tend to be creative, caring and very sensitive. I wish I had another lefty in my family. I have 4 kids. As far as teaching goes, I just always sat across from him or I learned right along w/ him how to do things lefty, and we would both laugh, but they learn, I just didn't make a big deal out of anything and told him how "lucky" he was to be left handed. My husband has a brother and a sister who are left handed, so we did ask them for their help when visiting, but other than that, I wouldn't worry about it, My son is very proud to be left handed and wouldn't trade it for the world! :)

T.-
Don't fret. My youngest was the same way for a long time. She did everything left handed and would eat only with her hands and not use the fork. She is now 6 years old and she learned all on her own how to do things. She ended up writing with her right hand and she eats with both. She ammadextreous. I think that is how you spell it. She can doing things with both hands. Really don't panic when they get to school things will become natural for them. My aunt hand a left handed child and everyone in the family is right handed for the most part and she didn't make a big deal about any of it. She taught him things just doing whatever was natural for her and he got it very easy. Don't point things out and just show him how to scoop the food and get it to his mouth. Don't worry about him having trouble. things will come naturally when he is ready. My 6 year old still at times eats with her hands and I have to remind her that she needs to eat with her fork. Not worry it will work out.
S. C

Well, I have the same problem in reverse. I am left handed and have a right handed baby. And wehn I was young I had to figure out how to use my left like I wanted when everone around me was a "rightie" I would suggest letting him figure it out on his own. Of course if he has problems give him so help. He will always have to adapt what every hand things to himself. He will probable be a little be amidexerous (be able to use left and right). I know that I some times have to use the right hand because it fits better things like sissors. I think you are on the right track knowing now that you aren't going to force him to use the right if he wants to use the left. He will adapt.

I am a ten year old left handed girl my mom and dad are both right handed. I feel that it was not any harder to learn any thing.It feels normal to me and don't worry nothing seemed to be backwords when my mom or dad taught me things it just seems natural to me.
good luck with your son!
Hi that was my daughter I asked her opinion and she wonted to write you back her self.It was not any harder to teach her things than it was to teach my 3 other children. (witch are right handed)The only thing that is harder for her is writing because her hand covers her writing.But even that she says dosent bother her.
Now some things are different like if he is ever in baseball he will need to stand on the opposite side of the plate when batting.(opposite right hand batters)But these accomidations are rare, simple and will be common sence.
I also wonted to mention,If you encourage NOT force but encourage hem to use his right hand sometimes, he may end up ambidectrous.

I am a 29yr old SAHM with 4 kiddos girl 12,girl 10,
boy 5, boy 3,and Twins on the way boy and girl.Hubby and I have been married for 12yrs.

I am left handed and so is my husband. We have two righties and one lefty. My parents were both right handed and I learned everything just fine. My writing is great, cutting with scissors wasn't hard because they make left handed pairs, and eating was never a problem. You have to realize that your son is only 14 months old so eating to him is still a learning process no matter what hand he prefers. I wouldn't worry about it. Most left handed people can do everything that right handed people can do. I asked my husband how he was taught and he said everything was fine to him also and his parents are both right handed. I wouldn't worry at this point and if he is left handed he is just a little more unique than most.

My daughter is left handed and I am right handed. My parents are both left handed and my brother and I are right handed. My brother and I never had any problems with the difference growing up and neither has my daughter. I think that people just adapt to surroundings regardless of their differences. We are no longer living in the age that it was unacceptable to be left handed. Try not to stress about this too much. We always acted like it wasn't an issue and it never was. My daughter is 14 now and has never had any problems being left handed. It will be okay. Just don't make an issue out of it. Good luck.

My sister and father are both left handed - and like the other before - this is not a big deal, you figure things out. If you want to show them a good example, just sit across from them and show them what you want them to do - mirror image like.

When I was younger and my mother was showing me how to hold a knife and fork - I would hold them backwards copying her. To this day, I find it difficult to cut food if I switch hands.

As for the using his hands and fingers to eat - that's common for quite a while! My daughter will still do this, (she is 2 now), going back and forth, or using her fingers to put her food on her fork or spoon and getting it to her mouth. It's a hard skill to learn, especially since the toddler utensils aren't usually as sharp as ours and they are wider - have you ever tried spearing the tiny macaroni with one of those forks - it's a challenge!

Trish, please do one thing for me as a lefty...don't discourage your child from being lefty. It's such a beatiful thing. I have heard tons of stories from people who are know in their 40,50,60s,who parents are hit them with ruler to discipline them from using their left-handed skill. I have come across two people in my life who are lefty and it's amamzing to see how a lefty writes. sometimes in better than a righty.
It takes getting use to it. I hope you hear my plea.

My daughter is 8 now and always showed a preference for the left hand, even to sucking her left thumb. It honestly has not been a big deal at all. She has just learned to do things with that hand. I think if you just act like that is natural, there really isn't anything to worry about. She even learned to tie her own shoes several years ago with no trauma. I just made sure the kindergarten teacher knew she was left handed so they let her write that way. Most people don't even notice it--I really think it will be fine in the long run and don't worry so much.

My son is a lefty and a righty. But he leans toward the left. I just try to use my left sometimes to see what struggles he will have to deal with in a right handed world. Opening doors for example they end up opening into theirselves, and writing they will always smear what they write. They learn by wayching you eat and then pick which hand they feel comfortable to use. It use to be in the old days they would force a child to be right handed, my aunt had that with her child now 40. Leftys are extremely bright. Its interesting if you spend a day using your left hand you will see the areas that they may struggle with. I changed my sons door to the other side so he would quite hitting his feet or face. Go on try it, it makes you stop and say wow I never knew that. His biggest problem was eating next to other students and bumping elbows. Ha ha. When hes bigger I will tell him he is special because not just anyone can use their left hand. Plus he listens to the phone on his left side. I always put it to his right. Duh what was I thinking?

In the family I grew up in, there were ten children. Mom and Dad and eight children were right handed, two children were left handed. In my own family, my husband and I are right handed, one of our four children is left handed. NOT a PROBLEM! Dont even concern yourself about it. There are sooo many other things that can be problematic, this is not one of them. Relax!

Good news! Your littly guy will learn by watching, and will process however he needs to in order to survive. Don't be a perfectionist about how he learns, or how he does something. For instance, if he ties his shoes differently than you do, it's not a big deal. The point is his shoes are tied.
It's probably easier for a left-handed child to learn from right-handed parents than the other way around because of how a left-hander's brain works. I'm sorry your mom was stressed about learning to do things. Give your little guy the chance to make mistakes without being in trouble for them and he will do just fine. Most southpaws are very creative.
(I'm a monther of six, one of whom is a "southpaw." No trouble learning anything. She is a bright, creative, about to be married young woman.)

I am going through the same thing. My daughter IS left handed and myself , my husband, and my son are all right handed. I was forced to be right handed when I was a child. I WILL NOT do that to my daughter. I have found that it is helpful when helping the to write that if you guide thier hand while they write with your dominant hand (being your right hand) they don't know the difference. When my daighter asks me for help with writing I let her hold the crayon with her dominant hand (the left one) and I guide her with my dominant hand (the right one) and we concentrate on making the letters. This way the writing feels natural to her and to me all at the same time and she concentrates on making the letters not how I am helping her.All she can tell is that mommy is helping her not that I do it differently. If she were to ask me , and she probably will one day, why I use my right hand I'll just tell her that some people feel more comfortable using the other hand. She all ready knows though that most kids write with thier right hand and she is perfectly fine with the fact that she does it differently. My daughter if 5 and will start kindergarten in the fall. All you have to do is think of creative ways to help your child. This is only the beginning!!! Good Luck!

I am left handed and both of my parents are right. My husband and I are both lefties and I am pretty sure my son is right handed. I don't think it's a big deal at all. Never gave it much thought really. But I never had any problems learning and excelled in school. I never thought learing was difficult.

There ar no left handed people in my imediate family and I ended up with 2 left handed boys. I didn't do anything different with them. If you try and change him it will just frustrate him. My kids are 9 and 11 now and I haven't noticed any problem with them doing things in school except sloppy handwriting. He'll be fine, you have many more things to worry about you ahead than which hand he prefers. Take care.

Hey T.,

I also am right-handed with a three year old that is left-handed. It was a little wierd at first, but I just let him do things on his own and he figured it out. Every once in a while, he'll attempt to eat with his right hand, but he is sloppy with it. I would allow him to do that and he would naturally switch to using his left hand on his own, only because it's easier to control for him. As far as teaching him to write, I just grab his left hand with my right and show him how to make the letters. It's really not that big of a deal as you may think it is. You just teach him the same way as if he was right-handed. He'll know what feels "right" to him. I hope this helped. By the way, I noticed he was left-handed when he was under one year old, when he was picking up toys and feeding himself more with his left. He did use his right for a few things, but he was predominately left-handed. You'll do just fine!

my parents are both right handed. i am a twin and my sister is right handed and i am left handed. we had no problems. you need to let things happen on their own. that is what my mom did and i am 36 yrs old and don't have problems. i do stuff with my left and right hand. the is NOTHING wrong with being a lefty. you need to quit stressing. i am sorry if i sound harsh, but i was a little offended by what you said.

Dear T.~

There is absolutely NOTHING for you to do or worry about! Just let your child be and he will do what comes naturally. Trust me ~ my daughter is a lefty & both my husband and I are righties and the thought never even entered our minds that we would have to "train" her to use her left hand. It's very "old school" what you have heard. It's actually the opposite - you would have to "train" him NOT to use his left hand. Also, it's true what they say about "lefties" - creative, intelligent minds! My daughter is 9 years old now and is wonderfully bright & artistically inclined. It's amazing! Oh - and her writing is neater & nicer than my son who is a righty"! I will tell you, having both, that there is no difference at all as far as rearing them - just enjoy them- each one for who they are!! The best of luck to you!!

My daughter showed that she was left handed until she was 5 and then just like something happened she started using her right hand. I actually thought it was cool, for her to be a lefty. Research does show that you can't tell for sure until they are 5. If he does turn out to be a lefty you will know what to do. Mom's are great that way. You will be great.

Okay, so we have the opposite problem: I am extremely ambidextrous and my hubby is a lefty. So far we have three obvious righties. Turns out just fine! My daughter (23 months) seemed to be a righty, but might be a little ambi. My advise is to just relax, if your child questions why you use a different hand, we've always said, "because some people find it easier to use one over the other. Use whatever hand feels best for you." We've let them take most of the lead, the add fine tuning with adjustments with whatever task comes up: eating, brushing teeth, et cetera. For examples, we try to use the hand they favor to demonstrate.

My oldest son is a lefty and has not had a single problem with anything at all. He's very intelligent and very artistic so don't worry, being a lefty is not going to prevent your child from doing what he wants to do! He's perfect just the way he is.. you'll see!

T.,
I know I am a little late on this, but I hope I can offer some help.
I'm an OT, and I work with pre-K through 6th grade kiddoes. I'm right-handed, some of them are left, but I still have to help them with gross and fine motor skills like throwing/catching; handwriting; grasping; using tools and devices; etc.
If nothing else has helped better, I've taught myself to demonstrate things face-to-face with kids (like handwriting upside down from across the table). I think this helps the lefties a little, because then my working hand is on their left side.
For your 14 month old, it's not so difficult. If he's having trouble figuring out how you're doing something (opening a container, picking up a small object, holding a crayon), just face opposite him.
Offer plenty of opportunities to use both hands while he's tiny: he can build on early experiences like these to make life easier for HIMSELF once he gets into school.
It's a very good question, and keep asking them. Don't let pushy people bowl you over. The worst thing is a parent who doesn't want to know everything about their kid.
Good luck!

Of 4 kids, two are left handed. My 16 yr old son is proficient with both hands--catches & throws w/his right & left equally and writes with his left. I did not make "choosing R or L" an issue and allowed him to develop on his own without any trouble with teaching him things as you have suggested. It was recommended too me too late by a trusted teacher that I should have "committed" him to R or L by 4th grade so that parts of his brain would have developed more completely. As he is, he's a tremendous athlete in many sports, musically inclined, and a very strong student in honors english, math, and science classes. The only thing I would have done differently is not worked so much on his left handed qtrback skills....the spin on the football by a left handed throw is different and not preferred by recievers!

I am now dealing with a 5 yr old that catches/throws with both hands, eats w/his R, writes with his L. He is showing the same athletic and academic inclinations as his older brother. We have not run into issues w/teaching thus far. More for curiousity's sake, I will be working with him over the next few years to "commit" him to R or L as suggested.

As with so many issues....they're not always issues until you make them issues!

T.,
You really don't have to worry too much. My husband and I are both right handed and our oldest son is left handed. Yes, some things will be a little difficult. My mom is left handed and I remember being very frustrated growing up when she taught me how to sew and crochet. Everything did seem backwards.....however, teaching our son to hold his fork, spoon,etc and how to write was really not all that difficult. He has beautiful penmanship. Just remember that, (as with all things), some things will be more tasking than others and require a little patience. However, it doesn't last very long. Good luck.

L.

Hi T.,

I am the only and I mean only person in my family anywhere that is left-handed. None of my kids are and no one knows of anyone way back. I learned how to do a lot of things right handed and left-handed. For instance, I sew left-handed, but I knit right-handed. I play most sports right-handed, but I can golf either handed. My writing slants to the left, but I don't drag my hand over the writing at all. There was no pressure on my to do anything except the way I wanted to which was great. I can cut with scissors with both hands too. You never know, it may be a super blessing in disguise.

Good luck and don't fret about it. Let the natural thing happen. My son acted like he would be left-handed and the only thing he does that way is he can be a switch hitter in baseball. That is a big plus for him and made him a more valuable player in school.

J.

My sister was left handed and it caused problems at the dinner table because my mom would put her on my right side!!! and clash!! we would always be hitting each others fork/spoon!
Today, they have LEFT HANDED scissors, utensils etc.. www.lefthandedmerchants.com and www.AnythingLeft-Handed.co.uk and www.lefthandzone.com are only a few of the companies that can put you on the track to making your childs right-handed world into his own left-handed world! Good luck!

For heaven's sake, parenting is tough enough without adding more stress to your life. Don't do this to yourself. Your child will learn just fine from you regardless of what he perfers. My mother was forced to write right handed when she was a hild, but you know what? She does everything else left handed. That tells me (as a teacher) that it isn't really nurture or nature, it's both. Children learn and develop regardless of our preferences and function as adults just fine even if they are different from those who teach them. And you can teach your son to write and to do everything, but you should let him chose which hand he is more comfortable using to accomplish his tasks. It will be fine. Like taking a trip, relax and enjoy the ride, don't freak out over which hand he uses to steer the car.

M. D

All I think I can add is that me & my husband thought FOR SURE my daughter (who is now 4) was going to be left handed. She used her left hand for almost everything up until about 20+ months, then she became right handed almost over night. My son is almost 2 & what we THINK will be left handed, but I guess - who really knows for sure until - I think they're 3?! I think my husband is starting to worry about how to teach him to play golf, but really no need to worry about it until you know for sure. My grandma was left handed & taught me to crochet by facing me rather than side by side. So there are ways.

Hi T.,
Breathe easy. I am left handed with a right handed mother. It really isn't a big deal. I think that left handed children just adapt to their environment. As for eating with hands, this is normal development regardless of handedness. Some suggestions I would offer for down the road...placing him at a place at the table where he won't knock elbows with someone else, getting him left handed scisors (or you can turn regular scisors upsidedown), and when he learns to write cursive, the paper tilts in the opposite direction of a right-hander's. Now, if you were going to teach him to knit... that might be a challenge, but I'm willing to bet he'll let that go without too much of an issue. Embrace his left-handedness. It may lead to something extrodinary that was meant just for him. You may also find him to be quite ambidextrous as the world is a right-handed place.
Cheers!

My husband and I are both right handed, and our 3 1/2 year old boy is left. I think it's neat -- he seems to be very intuitive about what to do (even more so than my right handed 8 year old). He writes well and uses a bat somewhat well (for three). I certainly don't think it's anything to worry about - when shown what to do, we all adapt to what's comfortable for us.

It's not that hard. Just teach him to hold pencils crayon etc. like a righty but angle his pager so the top is pointed to the right. if he hoosk his hand it will be hard to write and stuff. Just like everthing else it takes time to see what works best. after a while you won't even think abou it.

It is not a big deal at all. I am right handed and my husband does most things right handed, but he does bat and swing a golf club left handed. My oldest son is left handed and it's never been an issue. He is in 2nd grade and has beauitful hand writing. When my husband was teaching our son to bat (which my husband does lefty) he thought this will be easy. Well, it was easy but my son bats right handed!! Kids will do what is comfortable to them. Let nature take it's course.

I am a left handed parent of 2 right handers and the newest addition who is 2 now is left handed. You need to relax. He will learn, just by watching everyone else. He will find what is comfortable for him and find success. My 2 year son some times feeds with hand or fork or has us feed him depending on his mood. As a left handed person, I have never thought oh my god how will I teach a right hander, it will be backwards to them. I just taught them, but also as a left hander I have learned to use my right hand, even trained myself to throw a ball, write and calculate with my right hand. I played golf right handed, batted a ball both right and left.

Do not put limitations on yourself or your son. Just relax, it is a great blessing to have a left hander, they are just more dominate in using the right side of there brain. That is the only differences between right and left handers.

Good luck....

Both my kids seem to be left handed - and my husband and I are righties. I'm teaching our 4 year old how to write, and I let her hold the pencils, etc however she wants, but she follows arrows to form the letters. Once my daughter gets into school, the teachers are equiped to teach her how to exactly hold her pencil, etc. We haven't found it confusing at all. We also don't make a big deal of it.

Hi T.,
I think so sweet of you to be so concerned about this. I am a lefty and was raised by two right-handed parents. Now My husband and I ( he is a lefty too) are raising and homeschooling our four kids- two lefties and two righties. ( Does God have a sense of humor or what?)
I remember when I was in elementary school my bought bought left-handed scissors for any kid in our class that needed them. But I would still complain that life was not fair since tab-arm desks are built backwards,ect.
Since you can't change the world for you child teaching how to adapt and just laugh is the best way. When you teach him to write and other things try to sit across the paper from him. He can mirror your movements easier that way. Don't be alarmed if he holds his pencil with his hand bends a bit underneath the line or if he bends his wrist like a candy cane and comes down at the line from the top. While penmanship teachers may scorn, some of the best and prettiest writing I ever saw was done by a guy in my high school that learned that way.
Tying shoes will still be tricky, but if you can hold up the loops so it is like you are looking through a window at each other 'till he gets it it shouldn't be any harder with any other child.
I love that you are so interested in this for him even at this age. I wouldn't worry two much over the fork issue. My son would hold his fork in one hand and eat using his fingers with the other. (We used to joke that he kept the fork around to protect his plate in case one of his sisters got a wise idea to steal his food!) He did that until he was four and still slips up when he is not thinking about it. Don't worry with gentle reminders that will change, just take his hand that is wrapped around the the fork and impale his next bite with it. He'll catch on.
Thank you for not wanting to change him over that can cause all sorts for little 'brain-backfires' and make it harder on him later.
You'll do great. Besides scissors now come for use with both hands! (Just remember not to set him next to 'Aunt Millie' at Thanksgiving, when you bump elbows someone always winds up with soup in his lap)
S.

My 4 year old daughter is Left handed and has had no problems learning how to do tasks. Actually, she prefers to cut with scissors with her right hand and cannot do it with her left. She just picks up tasks by trying things herself. She is starting to write letters and I am just letting her figure out what works for her best.

My sister is a southpaw, and she never had any trouble. She said she just learned everything backwards- automatically switched it in her mind. Noone told her she was a leftie or made anything of it being different or more difficult- she just did everything like the rest of us.
She has two sons who are right handed and they do everything right handed- she never made an issue of it, and they pick things up as they go.
None of my children ate with spoons or forks in a coordinated way until they were about two years- they ate with their hands and banged the spoon around on their tray. They would all start mimicking us as we ate, but it was obvious they just were not physically coordinated enough yet. I think that is a normal preference for his age. When my children switch to sitting in a booster at the table, I require them to eat with their spoon/fork and remind them when I see them starting to eat with their hands. My son is four and still needs reminders. It could be he is simply not ready to eat with a spoon/fork yet. He does not know he is a leftie, and it is not a handicap or a setback.:)
I worked with the mentally and physically disabled and they learned to dress themselves with one arm, get around in what to most people would be impossible circumstances. Noone made a big deal of differences and were encouraged to learn things on their own at their own pace without a lot of intervention or making much of the difficulties. Your son is a bright, very normal child who can learn to teach himself as he grows. If your grandmother made a big deal out of having to do things with the opposite hand, your mom picked up on that mindset and passed it on to you. Really, he will be fine if you present it to him as ok and just look out for hiccups that can present themselves.

Use a mirror when teaching.

Both my parents are right-handed, and I am left. I had no problems whatsoever learning anything from them. I even had my right-handed grandmother teach me to knit with no trouble! I wouldn't really worry about it.

The most important thing is to make sure he's got a good elementary school teacher when it comes time to learn how to write - that way he won't curl his hand around and write awkwardly. I was lucky - 8 out of 19 kids in my first grade class were left-handed - so my teacher had separate writing classes for us.

The key to having him write correctly and legibly is to turn the paper at an angle. You know what I mean - when you go to write, do you turn your paper toward the left so that you can write easier? Well, for him, turn it toward the right, and his hand will be straight (not curled around the pencil) and he will write much more easily and nicely.

Hope this helps! :)
L.

My son is left handed and the only one out of our family. He is the oldest and Just like you I noticed from the time he was little that he favored his left hand. We did encourage him a little to keep using it because he would pick up his spoon or fork with his right hand and drop everything before it got to his mouth so we would move it to his left hand. He is 12 now and he actually feels pretty special that he is the only one that is left handed.

I don't have the right left problem but don't worry about the eating thing My daughter didn't use her utensils till i swear she was 3 almost 4. I'd give them to her but she would put them down & use her fingers grossed me out as she got older & ate real food but she refused to use the spoon & fork. One day she decided she was ready & did. It is completely normal for kids that age not to use there utensils to eat just fling food for extra distance :)

DOn't worry so much, the less STRESS the better. You know kids can pick up on your STRESS level immediately. Just go with what feels comfortable for him. My middle son when he was a toddler we thought was going to be a lefty. As he grew into Kindergarten he started writing right handed. He does everything else lefty; throwing a ball, batting, chopping wood. My immediate family are all right-handed, so when my baby seemed to favor his left hand-we were actually very excited.
I was telling my parents about the right and left brain dominance. They told me we just want a grandchild who is happy doing what he was comfortable with.
Give him some space and time to figure what's feel good and comfortable to him.

I am a left handed mom with a left handed daughter and 2 left handed sons. I have to say it was never a big deal at all. I think since being right and left handed has to also do with being "right and left brained" that it all usually clicks in on its own. Both my parents are right handed and I think the only time I ever felt weird about being left handed is when I met my in-laws because they were under the impression that left handedness was a severe handicap and even tried to make my daughter right handed. He probably prefers to eat with his hands because it's faster and easier and not because he's confused. I really wouldn't worry at all about it if I were you...he'll figure it all out on his own.

My middle child (he's 3) is left handed. Honestly, I have not done anything to help him concerning learning how to eat, draw, write, play etc. He has figured it all out on his own and does a great job! I never really stressed over the fact or made a big deal that he is left handed. He will tell you he is left handed if asked (like by his teachers) but doesn't really give it a second thought. My DH is more concerned because the world is geared for right handed people, mostly because he is a software engineer and uses a computer all the time. If I were you I wouldn't stress too much about it, he will be fine!

If your grandmother is still alive ask her for pointers on how best to show your little one to do things, If not ask a friend who is left handed to walk you through the basics of how to hold things and which way the paper needs to be turned to make writing easier. There are wonderful left handed adaptive items now for just about every thing. It is really just teaching mirror image. Sit across from him and play the mirror game with everything. Start by just doing random movements and he has to follow with his left hand and then as he is old enough to grasp a pencil or crayon move into the mirror game with writing. It worked for a lot of my students in my Special Ed classes.

My whole family was left handed (both of my parents and 3 kids), so we had it easier learning from them, but were cared for by my grandmother (a righty) quite a bit. I realize this may be a bit extreme for every day tasks, but one thing that helped her teach me to crochet (when I was 7) was to do it in a mirror. I was able to follow her motions exactly that way, instead of translating.

I am sure things will be more difficult, but hope for the best for you! I don't remember feeling any disadvantage in school at all...learning to write went fine, even though I was the only lefty.