Anyone try to make your left-handed kid be right-handed?

Trust me he's worth much more as a lefty.

don't do it, I am left handed and the only thing i can think of that is inconvenient is right handed scissors, even then they are still usable. Plus a left hander is a trump card in sports, basketball especially. Why? Because people don't expect left handers. although this is a little different, playing soccer growing up my dad use to say "Left footed players are like gold son. If your even a decent lefty, they will treat you like the messiah." And it was true! Coaches love leftys, assuming your kids not going to be a runner.

I've never had any problems being a southpaw

What is so horrible about being a lefty? It's amazing for sports. Ichiro's dad made him a lefty. They say the best golfers are lefties that play right handed. How often do you have to use friggin' scissors in your lifetime? How many times have you complained about your baseball team's lack of good lefty pitching and hitting?

the only sport where I would not want to be left handed is golf.

there are WAY fewer options for left handed players when it comes to buying clubs.

other than golf, being left handed is an advantage in every sport I can think of.

oh ya, in field hockey all players must play right handed. (not that males really play field hockey in north america anyways)

nope wrote:

don't do it, I am left handed and the only thing i can think of that is inconvenient is right handed scissors, even then they are still usable. Plus a left hander is a trump card in sports, basketball especially. Why? Because people don't expect left handers.

Ya that works up until about 9th grade, when the coaches will tell the kid's opponent "Number XX is a lefty."

The only real reason I can see would be if you have some reason to suspect he's going to be bomb at baseball, since lefties are limited to 5 of the 9 positions whereas righties can take their pick... but then again, by forcing to use his naturally weaker hand you might destroy that baseball potential.

What evidence has your wife produced that left-handed people are less happy or successful than right handed people other than her own claim that "the world is made for right handers?"

I'm not even so sure that the world being made for right handers is even that big of a deal. Of all of the tools and pieces of equipment that must be operated using the dominant hand, I can think of none for which a left-handed version is not readily available. Every guitar store I've ever been in has had a good selection of left-handed guitars. Every sporting goods store carries hockey sticks and baseball gloves for lefties. In schoolrooms that have the desk-chair combination with the armrest, there is always a column of seats with left-handed desks. So what's so inconvenient about being left-handed?

what about innies vs. outies?

I am left-handed and use scissors with my right hand. So there is zero disadvantages for me.

i can't believe someone would even consider this today. let the kid grow up naturally.

I am a leftie, but use the mouse with my right hand like a master

My dad told me thousands of left handed people end up in emergency rooms each year from accidents caused by using right hand power tools with their left hand. But he just makes stuff up so its probably not true. That said, scissors are far from the the only thing designed for rightes. Most pants have zipper that can only be reached from the right because of the fly. The flusher on most urinals is on the right. I am sure ther are many more things that I have never noticed, but thats probably because they are small and don't really matter so much.

I found that driving in Japan was pretty natural feeling, once I got used to it, because I was able to shift with my left hand.

I still flip through magazines from back to front for some reason (I think this is because I am left handed). I do all sports right handed though so not much impact there. I can hammer and saw with either hand so that is a big plus. You never know just how "left handed" your kid will be.

Let the kid be.

And to the above poster, simply writing left to right can be inconvenient. You ever smear your own writing due to your left hand dragging across fresh ink? I hate that.

My cousin used to pitch for the Yankees. He got paid well, much better than the right-handers with the same ERA. In the maternity room I tried to work my son's left arm a little more to influence that outcome. Didn't work.

Divorce your wife now. She is a control freak. I bet she doesn't give b*******s because she doesn't want to put that thing you pee with in her mouth.

I'm left handed. I use the scissors, the can opener, and the mouse right handed without a problem. I play golf right handed because that is how I learned to play. I can shoot pool from either side, but I'm much better with the left. You learn how to use things by using them the way they are made to be used. Your dominant hand really doesn't matter. It seems to me that any time it does matter, being a lefty is an advandage.

My 10 year old is the only leftie in our family. When she started karate at 4 they taught her as if she was right handed. Now she can fight really well because she doesn't have a "stronger" leg. Same with soccer. The coaches love her. Besides being left handed is cool because you are unique. Please tell your wife to not do this to your child. It will only make him feel bad about himself and frustrate him.

I was forced to use my right hand even though I was naturally left-handed. My handwriting is completely illegible, i don't hold a pen properly and my fine motor skills in general suck.

In school, you could point out the lefties because they had chalk dust on the side of their palms from touching the chalkboard while writing on the chalkboard.

And when they wrote on paper, their writing hand tended to cover up what they just wrote...

But this probably doesn't matter so much in the age of texting, IM, and email.