A Left-Handed Child – Practical Guidelines for Parents

Opublikowano: 2026-05-04 10:36, Numer artykułu: 113234 , Autor: K.Kultys1

Left-handedness is not a reason for concern. The most important factors are creating an appropriate atmosphere and adopting a supportive attitude on the part of parents and the child’s immediate environment toward the child’s left-handedness. It is essential to ensure that the child accepts their left-handedness and does not feel worse or different because of it. Properly adapted methods of learning to write and the improvement of motor habits are key conditions for the child’s educational progress.

  

What should be taken into account when preparing a left-handed child for writing?

Drawing, colouring, tracing, and practising pattern lines are introductory activities to learning how to write. Therefore, correct positioning of the child’s hand and the sheet of paper should be introduced already in the preschool years (ages 3–5). The correct pencil or crayon grip should be corrected before an incorrect habit becomes established. It is also important to monitor the direction of drawing (from the left side of the page to the right, from top to bottom). Writing with the left hand involves many technical difficulties, such as smudged ink, covering the written text with the hand, or bent corners of the paper.

 

Currently, a variety of tools adapted for left-handed children are available (scissors, fountain pens, ballpoint pens, pencils, crayons, grips). It is worth using them to make the processes of writing and drawing easier for children.

 

Correct posture of the child while drawing and writing:

  • body posture: feet flat on the floor, back straight,
  • the sheet of paper or notebook should be positioned slightly to the left of the child’s body axis and placed at an angle,
    the upper left corner of the paper (or notebook) should point upward,
  • the child independently controls the angle of the notebook,
  • it is beneficial for a left-handed child to write on a slightly inclined desk surface.

 

At preschool or school, it should be ensured that a left-handed child has a desk partner sitting on their right side. Proper lighting is also essential—the light should come from the right side or from above (diffused light).

How to hold a pencil:

  • the child should hold the pencil or pen with three fingers:
    between the thumb and the middle finger, with the pencil or pen pressed from above by the index finger,
  • the opposite end of the pencil or pen should point toward the left shoulder,
  • while writing, the fingers should remain below the notebook lines.

 

In the initial stage of learning (preschool “zero” grade and first grade), the child should use a pencil.

 

If parents have any doubts regarding hand dominance, they may consult a psychological and educational counselling centre. Lateralisation (hand dominance) should be established around the age of six, before the child begins formal schooling.

 

Exercises improving hand motor skills and graphic exercises developing visual–motor coordination are particularly useful when working with a left-handed child. There are many publications devoted to this topic.

Recommended literature:

The Left Hand Draws and Writes. Preparatory Writing Exercises for Left-Handed Children. Part I
Marta Bogdanowicz, Małgorzata Rożyńska

The Left Hand Draws and Writes. Preparatory Writing Exercises for Left-Handed Children. Part II
Marta Bogdanowicz, Małgorzata Rożyńska

The Left Hand Draws and Writes. Preparatory Writing Exercises for Left-Handed Children. Part III
Marta Bogdanowicz, Małgorzata Rożyńska

Exercise Workbook with Slanted Lines for a Left-Handed Child
Marta Bogdanowicz, Małgorzata Rożyńska

Calligraphy of Capital Letters for Right- and Left-Handed Children
Anna Juryta, Anna Szczepaniak

Calligraphy of Lowercase Letters and Numbers for Right- and Left-Handed Children
Anna Juryta, Anna Szczepaniak

311 Patterns and Zigzags. Graphomotor Exercises Improving the Writing Hand
R. A. Hływa

Graphomotor Exercises for Grades 1–3. “I Can Do It”
E. Boksa, Z. Zbróg

Graphomotor Exercises for Grades 4–8. “I Can Do It”
E. Boksa, Z. Zbróg

Ortograffiti. From Dysgraphia to Calligraphy. I Write More and More Neatly – Exercise Books for Grades 4–6 of Primary School
M. Bogdanowicz, M. Rożyńska

Symmetrical Graphic Dictations
R. Zelker

Graphic Dictations
Z. Handzel

Left-Handedness in Children
M. Bogdanowicz

 

Source:
The Left Hand Draws and Writes. Preparatory Writing Exercises for Left-Handed Children. Part I
Marta Bogdanowicz, Małgorzata Rożyńska

mgr Justyna Skierska, mgr Agnieszka Gulczyńska‑Paulińska