Lefthandedness... Are they or aren't they?!

Our school in Scotland of the 1940s must have been enlightened. One of my school friends was a lefty and no teacher ever tried to discourage her. She was always a front runner in handwriting competitions. A few years later, my youngest sister, also a lefty, at the same school, had no interference from teachers.
Former President Obama is left-handed.

DGS started school in September aged 4. He has always been completely ambidextrous, and whatever the foot equivalent is. We let him get on with it and mentioned it to School when he started. They watched him for half a term then did some testing and decided he is probably LH. The reason for testing is to stop him spending time working with both hands, which will take twice as long to develop the muscle memory in each one. We didn’t mind which he used, neither did they but it does seem that a drawing and writing preference is developing for using his left hand.

My sister, 60 years ago, never got on with school work after being taught to be right handed.

On the genius point, have you noticed how nearly every actor on film, stage or TV is a lefty?

My mum used to get quite upset that her knickers I'd folded neatly in her drawer were facing the 'the wrong way'.

I'm another left hander.
One disadvantage (or is it an advantage since I have a valid excuse) is when eating with friends.
I have been known on quite a few occasions to pick up (and drink from) the wine glass belonging to the person on my left.

Apparently it also affects which leg you put in your knickers first!

My D (now aged 37) is left handed. Growing up she struggled so much with my scissors until I purchased a left handed pair for her.
Recently I was at her home over Christmas and noticed that she still purchases left handed ones as she cannot use 'normal' ones.
Years ago I recall her changing her bank to a company that provided left-handed cheque books ... these may sound like a gimmick to us non-lefties but believe me they were anything but when it came to being able to write in the stub.

I have 2 ambidextrous children who do more with their right hands but use their left hands more than most and one left hander. Even in today's enlightened world, the education system does not seem to allow for LH children to learn how to write their letters to give them the best handwriting. My son was frequently told where to start his letters (completely wrong for a LH) and was not allowed to turn his page sideways or write from over the top like many LH's. As he only started his education 12 years ago, I was quite astonished. He struggles a bit with right handed scissors and lost out at a place on the county hockey team one year because they didn't realise he was left handed but other than that, has no real difficulties...unless you are forced to read his handwriting. Thank goodness for computers!

I am soooo left handed , easy to forget I have a right hand untill arthritis struck . Any left handers break window catches , I do , always have , managed it in the last eight houses I lived in and done it in this house in less than a year,

My dad was left handed but ate right handed and kicked a ball right footed
Really interesting but no one has needed a book answering the original question

My darling nephew is left handed. He went through state school system, graduated from Exeter College Oxford with a 1st class honours degree and is now a very young professor at Birkbeck London.

Both my husband and father used to make derogatory comments about his left handedness. Hmmmmm

I'm right handed but have always stuck pins in with my left hand when dressmaking, I also crochet back to front and can write passably well with my left hand, I can also read and write mirror writing......

It was obvious that our DD was left handed before she was 2 but both DS are righties. My late FiL had 4 children (1 with 1st wife, 3 with 2nd) and there are 2 left and 2 right handers! At our GP's when children were small, 3 out of the 5 doctors were lefties!

My right-handed son is left-footed. Which always came in very handy at football.

One of my DC is left-handed and the only issue was when one teacher insisted the class wrote with proper pen and ink. DD's work that year was mostly illegible as she'd smear whatever she wrote.

I had an Auntie who, with my toddler on her knee, slapped his left hand when he transferred a toy to it and then held his left hand behind his back. She never got the opportunity again!

As a left hand pen holder, I can say based on my observations that those of us that use our left hand for pen are more ambidextrous than those limited people who called themselves "right handed".
This is natural having to live in a "right" handed world, but there are many, many things I do with my right.
Soon it will hardly matter as the age of the pen comes to a quick end. It is all keyboarding ...

My son is left handed but he plays his violin and/or viola with his right hand.
His handwriting is not very good though.

Anniebach True but we are also very modest ?

My DF was right handed, my DM left. I’m more or less right handed but use my left quite a lot. DH had parents who were one of each too. We have three DC. Two are right handed, one is ambidextrous although she has settled on writing with her right hand she has no real concept of right and left, is dyslectic and no sense of direction. All three have married left handlers. Out of four DGC two are lefties, two are righties. I wonder if I could get an enormous grant to study how much is inherited.

During the 1950s whilst at school, my left hand was firmly tied behind my back to encourage me to write with my right hand, it didn't work, on some occasions if the teacher caught me writing with my left hand she would whack me over the knuckles with a ruler - happy days I don't think.

DDiL and DGS are both lefthanded. I am unaware of it ever causing any problem for either of them. DGS's lefthandedness was clear very young.

I, on the other hand, are very firmly right handed. This was confirmed when I was assessed for dyspraxia. Yet I operate my computer mouse with my left hand and always have, because I found using it right handed so uncomfortable and I do all sorts of other things lefthandedly for the same reason.

That’s interesting Baggs

My dr told me to use my left hand as much as possible although I am right handed, as we get older as it uses up brain cells we haven't used apparently, I open doors, clean teeth etc with left hand, other things more tricky

I think swapping hands like that for drawing is common in young children. It certainly was in mine who ended up two righthanders and one left. I probably do more with my left hand than most righthanders. This turned out to be useful when I broke my right arm earlier this year. Been cleaning my teeth, picking up mugs, ironing, using tools, etc lefthandedly since my early twenties when I had an achey right shoulder.

Quite possibly. Especially as she was so late deciding which hand to use. Her mother is left handed.