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It is a shame your mother labeled you as an "awkward child" Perhaps your mother enjoyed cooking and baking and was frustrated by your left handedness. I find that with many parents who are disappointed when their children are not adept at or do not have a particular skill for something they enjoy and the child feels like a failure.
Instead the parents should try to find something that plays to the child's strength. Many successful baseball pitchers are left-handed so left-handedness does not rule out athletic ability. My daughter was tall for her age so I thought she would do well at basketball. I had played the sport and looked forward to teaching her but she had poor eye-hand coordination and running ability. She was in fact awkward at this sport and rather than cut her from the team, they wanted her to be the "team manager" basically collecting the team equipment. I said absolutely not. I wanted her to feel success at being a participant on a team. We kept trying other sports and she became a rower and that was a wonderful sport for her physique, athleticism and confidence. She became team captain.
Last edited by Maddie104; 04-28-2024 at 03:43 PM..
I sometimes am clumsy when it comes to sports, but I was a good runner and played outdoors a lot. Could some of your clumsyness be because of the time period you grew up in. I am thinking that there were less girls that did sports in the 60's but I could be wrong.
In my country, where football is totally predominant, left-handed are highly valued. Those who have stood out at the international level have been left-handers. Surely you have heard at least about Diego Maradona and who is currently playing in the US: Lionel Messi. Both left-handed. Or should I say left-feeted? Does this word exist?
In my country, where football is totally predominant, left-handed are highly valued.
I ran into that in school too when playing soccer. I was left-dominant. Teams tended to want me until they found out that despite being a coveted lefty, I just wasn't a very gifted player .
It is generally believed (and maybe proven out in real life) that a person's dominant "side" tends to be the stronger side. Muscles are more developed on the side a person chooses time after time to carry out more of daily life's tasks. To be stronger on the opposite side from most other players would seem to be an advantage. Other players are "ready" for a right-handed kick or throw. When it doesn't happen, their counter move may happen too late.
One of my favorite books "Staying Found: Reading Nature's Maps" describes all the fascinating little ways to navigate through nature without benefit of map or compass, just making use of the clues nature, habits of thinking, and inclination tend to provide.
One of the topics it discusses is the tendency for lost people to wander in a circle. That circle might be miles wide, but still a circle. Why does that happen? One theory is because just about everyone is "handed". Because of handedness, the body ends up being slightly asymmetrical. The muscles on the dominant side make one side of the body slightly heavier than the other. That could create a tendency to favor that heavier side. Over time and distance, that means the person would travel in a circle. Unfortunately, the opposite can happen too. That dominant, stronger side could cause the person's dominant leg to take a slightly longer stride every step. They'd end up walking in a circle again, just in the opposite direction!
Last edited by Parnassia; 04-28-2024 at 04:33 PM..
I wonder how it works in countries where the left hand is still considered "unclean."
I went to elementary school in the 60s and the teachers I had didn't force me to write with my right hand. What you tell, was already known around here as well.But maybe I was lucky; crazy teachers also exist.
I ran into that in school too when playing soccer. I was left-dominant. Teams tended to want me until they found out that despite being a coveted lefty, I just wasn't a very gifted player .
Haha...good for you. Ahhh... Another case I now remember about lefty footballers...Beto Alonso, who was a famous footballer in the 70's and 80's, turned out to be artificially left dominant. His father said that he would be more valued if he was this way, and trained him from a very young age.
Haha...good for you. Ahhh... Another case I now remember about lefty footballers...Beto Alonso, who was a famous footballer in the 70's and 80's, turned out to be artificially left dominant. His father said that he would be more valued if he was this way, and trained him from a very young age.
Don't really see anything wrong with that. In a way, it isn't even dishonest. What's the difference between a trained skilled lefty and a natural equally skilled lefty? Much of the day to day stuff we do is due to learned habit, not handedness. Some people train themselves to become ambidextrous so they can do specific tasks equally well with either hand; consider musicians and artists for example. And yes, athletes. People who lose one hand adapt to using the other. We may have started off with an inclination toward one or the other, but time and habit can either reinforce or override that. People tend to take the path of least resistance...if you're used to doing something with your right hand you continue to do it that way because it's automatic...it takes less thought or attention than consciously forcing otherwise. Any lefty could tell you how they learned to adjust to a right-dominant world. I know I did.
Last edited by Parnassia; 04-28-2024 at 05:47 PM..
Not wrong, but kind of obsessed with his son being a soccer star. To the point of "making" him left-footed (I think that's how you say in English for those who have predominant left foot. Everyday I learn something here)
I am a lefty too and the one thing I can say is I cannot cut paper or anything similar straight It is always Jagged. So I have my husband do it
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