The Little Lefty

By Adaora Ude The little girl’s voice was tiny yet firm. ‘’ I don’t want to go to school mummy, I won’t go, please don’t make me.’’ The day before, she had cried and cried and refused to go to school, and being just 3 years old, her mother indulged her and let her stay home. Just for the day, she thought. So you can imagine how shocked she was when little Miss Becky refused to go to school yet again. “Does that mean the little lady is already developing a lack of affinity for school and learning? Well, not on my watch.” The woman resolved she would get the little missy to school even if it took all of her time that morning. Upon further probing, little Becky quipped one long smattering sentence in a mad rush “I don’t want to go because my teacher is making me use this hand (she thrust her right hand up in front of her face) and I don’t know how to use it. I don’t want that school, I don’t like the teacher, I want to go to another school.”  She gushes and exhales with a puff as her eyes well up and shimmer with tears threatening to spill at any moment… Sound familiar? Have a child who is showing all the signs of being a southpaw? Or are YOU a southpaw? Welcome to my world!!! Now the Nigerian society frowns at anyone who uses the left hand rather than the right. The general perception is that it is a bad habit; in some instances it is even thought of as a defect that needs to be expunged and totally stamped out. My grandmother for the longest time scolded me every time I attempted to stir her pot of soup with my left hand! “Yeah right, like it would spoil the taste of the broth” I remember thinking and rolling my eyes mentally anytime she got on that worry boat.  All my life, I’ve always used my left hand. I scratched my face as a baby with my left hand for crying out loud!!! Washing, eating, writing you name it; I did with my precious left. Lots of parents think that they are doing their children a world of good by trying to “change their hand” when they discover that child is beginning to do things with the left hand and I find that ludicrous. In a society like ours, where we all want to be up to date and forward thinking in almost all areas of our lives, why do we still hold back on one of the most natural things in the world?  I’d say it’s lack of information. Like everything else, people need to make an informed decision when embarking on the not so safe task of getting their children to use the “right” hand as they see it. Things could go really wrong. My mother refused to be discharged from the hospital after my birth because being a first time mom; she was afraid my right arm was broken. I just didn’t move the darn thing!! The doctor had to insist and promised her that if my hand was damaged, she could have his medical licence suspended. He swore there was nothing wrong; mom agreed to be discharged. Needless to say, we were back at the hospital by the time I was 3months old (*eyes rolling*). She just didn’t get it, did she? Anyway, my folks got hit with the bombshell, “I suspect your child might be left-handed. Just watch her; if she is, I’d advise you let her be. Do some research, there is nothing wrong with being left-handed.” – Doctor’s words! And so they left and my dad researched and made an informed decision- leave her be! Lucky me!! Let me share a little bit of information about lefties. Left handed people are known as southpaws and about 10% of the world’s population is left handed. The term ambidexterity is used for a person who can use both the left and right hands. It is extremely rare to be originally ambidextrous and those people who have had to learn to use a second hand always will sway to their originally dominant hand. There is a popular theory that generally explains the brain hemisphere and how it affects the theory of handedness so to speak. It is believed that if all functions are carried out in both hemispheres of the brain, the energy consumption of the brain will be greatly increased and with the size of the brain, this is not feasible. God is wise aye? The way the brain works is incredibly complex so simply put when explaining brain dominance and handedness, we say that the brain is “cross-wired” so that the left hemisphere controls the right handed side of the body and vice-versa and hand dominance is connected with brain dominance on the opposite side – which is why we say that only left-handers are in their right minds!!! (*Grin* eat your heart out guys!) Left-handers are more likely than right handers to be creative and visual thinkers. Right handers are usually more vocal in terms of speech and language and this is supported by a higher percentage of left-handers than normal in certain jobs and professions like music, the arts and media in general. Left-handers are also usually pretty good at most ball sports and things involving hand-to-eye co-ordination. (Think Rafael Nadal) There are a great many accomplished artists and world famous people who are left handed and obviously, their dominant hand being the left did nothing to deter their drive or achievements in their chosen fields.  These famous names were/are all lefties: Leonardo Da Vinci, James Cameron, Spike Lee, Pierce Brosnan, Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Judy Garland, Whoopi Goldberg, Nicole Kidman Marilyn Monroe, David Bowie, Eminem, Jimi Hendrix, Sir Paul McCartney, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Joan of Arc, Julius Caesar, Aristotle, The Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, President George Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and oh…even Jack the Ripper (go figure). As far as history goes, as a way of explaining hand dominance there is a theory which says that as the heart is on the left hand side, a shield would have to be in the left hand to defend it and any weapon therefore had to be held in the right, which became the dominant hand. Recent theories have included that right-handedness is the normality and left-handedness is a deficiency which results from a traumatic birth! Left-handers have done quite badly over the years and many old superstitions still survive today, sadly! Christianity and its connotations haven’t helped either and it strongly favours the right hand. For instance, it is known that it is the right had that gives the blessing and makes the sign of the cross (for Catholics). The Bible contains over 100 favourable references to the right hand and 25 unfavourable references to the left-hand. E.g.: The right hand of the lord doeth valiantly, the right hand of the lord is exalted (Psalm 118 vv15, 16) The left hand does worst in the parable of the sheep and goats. The sheep are set on Christ’s right hand and the goats on the left. Those on the right inherit the kingdom of God while those on the left depart into everlasting fire. The devil is nearly always portrayed as left-handed and evil spirits lurk over the left shoulder (which is why you throw spilled salt over your left shoulder to ward them off). Smirk and rolling my eyes!!! Here’s a bit of exercise I found interesting and thought to share;

1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?
2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?
4. Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?
5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?
6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?
8. Tilt your head over on to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?
9. Fixate on a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (When the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?

If you have always considered yourself to be right or left-handed you will probably now have discovered that your body is less than total in its devotion to its favoured side. If you are right-handed the chances are that you were not able to be ‘right’ 10 times. Some researchers have even claimed that left-handers are more intelligent and eloquent than their right-handed counterparts. In tests conducted by Dr. Alan Searleman from St Lawrence University in New York, he found that left-handers can be considerably more intellectually gifted. There were more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people – which is the “genius” bracket. This is perhaps why there are more “lefties” in creative professions – such as music, art and writing. The world’s Left Handers day is the 13^th of August and it was formed by the Left Handers club UK on the 13^th of August 1992. The day is now celebrated worldwide and in the U.K. alone there are over 20 regional events to mark the day Seriously guys, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being left handed; so if you notice that your Little Becky or Little Nathan is leaning that way, let him be…let him explore his possibilities with the ‘HAND’. These days, some people even consider it extremely sexy! I would know (*Wink*).    

About The Author Adaora Ude is a young lady lawyer who works as a Relationship Manager with Pensions Alliance Limited, one of the foremost Pension Fund Administrators in the industry today. She has loved to read for as far back as she can remember and she absolutely adores writing. Adaora tries to find the time form her busy schedule to put her thoughts down on paper. Her writings while mostly inspirational and informative, have some fun, color and makes for good reading. Adaora lives and works  in Lagos with her husband.

 

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This article was first published on 16th October 2012 and updated on February 5th, 2014 at 9:09 pm

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