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From: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann)
Newsgroups: net.med,net.kids,net.social
Subject: Changing Left-handedness to Right-handedness
Message-ID: <127@unc.unc.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 10-Aug-85 18:02:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.127
Posted: Sat Aug 10 18:02:25 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Aug-85 04:59:59 EDT
Reply-To: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann)
Organization: CS Dept, U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 21
Xref: linus net.med:1860 net.kids:1554 net.social:827
Summary: Is it bad?  If so, why?

References:


A friend's preschooler always seemed to prefer using his left hand.
His mother has been trying to change him into a right hander.
She bought him a toy baseball glove for right handers, and when she
takes out the coloring books, she instructs him to use his right hand
"so he'll have fewer problems when he goes to schood."
When he was a toddler, she refused to hand him any candy, toys,
or other objects until he finally reached with his right hand.

The boy is generally obediant, so he uses his right hand for printing
his name and coloring, though his coordination is much worse than
other children his age.

Though this attempt to switch hand preference may work, I wonder
whether it might have bad repurcussions later.  Do any readers
know of any psychological or social problems that can be caused
by the attempt to change a child's "handedness"?  How might this
affect his learning ability in school, his aptitude for sports,
and his social self-confidence?

	Frank Silbermann