Easter was a great holiday weekend for the family. Angie and I spent it with her family and we had a great Easter dinner. Lenka had a great time searching for eggs, getting candy, and of course getting the annual visit from the Easter Bunny. It was also a special time for Janika. This was her first Easter and I think she handled it very well. But there was a highlight for Janika, well more for her parents. It looks as if our baby girl might be left handed. This sounded sirens in my head because now I felt that from now on everything would be backwards. Ranging from teaching her how to hold a baseball bat to cutting with scissors to even writing her own name. Both Angie and I are right handed. Sure there are things I can do with both hands, but I’m predominately a righty. We do have lefties in our family. Angie’s mom is left handed and I have two older brothers and an older sister who are left handed. But after looking into it we found that being left handed is not necessarily hereditary. In fact, what I found out was that no one really knows. One out of ten babies are born left handed and scientists say that it is purely natural selection.
When I first noticed Janika’s left handed tendencies if you will, my first thought was to work with her on using her right more. I then discovered that you should NEVER try to push right or left onto a baby. It can make them very frustrated and even lower their self confidence. It can be hard for lefties because they may want to fit in with their friends and they’ll try to use their right hand and it will be very difficult for them. So for the parents out there with babies in the six to twelve month age range, here are some tips to see if you’re dealing with a South Paw.
-The hand that is always closest, or in, their mouth when teething or eating
-The hand your child uses to hold a spoon when eating
-The hand they use to hold a crayon or pencil
-When standing on one leg, they feel more comfortable standing on their left
On a side note I realized that I’m going to see if I can get Janika involved in sports. If she takes to sports such as basketball, softball, or ultimate fighting (Just kidding Angie) being left handed will be a huge advantage. Just for fun I looked up some famous left handed people. Maybe one day the name Janika Dwight will be one of them.
Ronald Reagan
Barack Obama
Jay Leno
Richard Simmons
Matt Groening (creator of ‘The Simpsons’)
Kurt Cobain
Phil Collins
Judy Garland
Jimi Hendrix
Tim Allen
Charlie Chaplin
Tom Cruise
Matt Dillon
Whoopie Goldberg
Angelina Jolie
Julia Roberts
Oprah Winfrey
Larry Bird
John McEnroe
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Babe Ruth
2 comments:
I have also heard a theory (National Geographic Channel or Discovery Health Channel?) that left handed people were originally one half of a pair of twins. Not sure of the accuracy, but an interesting thought.
Here's the left handed people in my life:
Me, my mom, my grandma (Betty), Josie, Will, Uncle Milf, and my best friend Amber. Megan is the only one in our household who is right handed. I think heredity must have something to do with it, although Will is the only left handed person in his family.
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