My uncle was a lefty- a wonderful ball player(he played in college), my great grandma was a proud lefty- she received the right to vote at age 33- and she used her left hand proudly to mark her choices. I joined the family ranks of a proud left handed heritage. My uncle tells people "We are the only ones in our right minds".

In my day to day life I realized quite young that this was not an advantage. I would go to the pencil sharpener attached to the wall at school- and when I pulled my pencil back- it was dirty and remained unsharpened. I learned to adapt. Teachers attempted to correct this error in my judgement- but my father made it clear that I was a lefty- so support His daughter. I would attempt to copy adults movements and this often went nowhere. I needed to learn to bowl differently, play sports backwards (but I could bat left or right). My grandad could not teach me to play pool left handed- so around age 9 I learned the sport as a right handed person. My right brain had to rethink what it saw as I tried to recreate what others demonstrated.

I was blessed- My dad mounted a left handed pencil sharpener on the wall at home-I proudly sharpened pencils to take to school. He found a friend that had been a professional bowler- (and left handed) to teach me the sport of bowling- My dad and I went on to win a trophy for first place in a local fund raiser - It was a proud moment. I have retained those techniques and can still bowl in the mid 100's during my once a year bowling event. I never had to share my special scissors- with the green handle- I kept them all the way thru elementary school( my mom probably still has them somewhere). As I grew up - I gathered many gadgets to keep me on the level playing field in the right handed world.

When eating out my friends leave a space on the end- So that I won't elbow anyone- (In my view it is so they won't elbow me). I am careful about which pens/ pencils I use- I am not a fan of smearing ink on my hand. I found a store for left handed folks once- it was on a trip west- I was amazed. Now I seek out specialty items whenever possible. Right handed people just can't understand how simple things like scissors or pens can become upsetting to us lefties.

How can Parents of left handed children encourage equality? Never allow them to believe this is a defect. Many great minds have been left handed. Encourage them to use left handed gadgets; purchase the needed items without complaining. Allow kids to express themselves and relieve stress thru creativity in physical sports or the arts. The world is not supportive of anyone different. Teach your kids how to adapt- if they become frustrated when learning a skill from right handed teachers- attempt to find a left handed person- it is rare that they would not want to help their fellow lefty. Never limit your childs choices due to lack of equipment- Adapt and overcome.