Dear Anne,

You are right. I am a lefty and learning how to tie my shoelaces was very frustrating! And so was learning to tell time on the clock. Don't even talk about knitting (not that your son will be knitting) and learning to play guitar. Oh my. At least my mom was a lefty and understood.
One good thing, lefties get used to the hard way and being hardworking and we're usually smarter because of that - we have to understand both sides constantly in order to be able to function properly.

Hi Bethany. Thanks for your note. I must ask: How did being left-handed affect how you learned to tell time on the clock?

Hi again Anne,
You're welcome.
Well, I know that it took me years to be able to read a wall clock. I'm not sure why, but then I found this clock online a few years ago: http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/backwards_wall_clock.html
And I asked some friends who are lefties too, if they had trouble at first and they did! Who knew? I am also remembering that I was always confused about which direction was left and which was right. When I was 16 and learning to drive, I had to literally think to myself, okay, which hand do I write with? And then I would say okay, that's left then. So I should turn the other way because the directions tell me to turn right. I think my issue with the clock is similar. I'm wired to run a different direction than the rest! :)
Hope that helps a little.
Also, I would look at this website: http://www.left-hand.org/
Rosemary, the woman who runs the website, is left handed and is very helpful and friendly.

I wish i'd had someone left handed to teach me things like tieing shoelaces, forming letters etc. Anyhow, there's a great book called Your Left Handed Child which tells you everything you need to know as a right-handed parent. You can buy it here:

http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/lh_child.html

I wish someone had helped me tie my shoelaces and form my letters when I was little. Still, there's a great book for right handed parents. You can buy it here:
http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/lh_child.html

Hi
as a lefty the best way I learned from my mom was that she would sit opposite me and do whatever right heanded. as i copied her i learned it left-handed. also - left handed friends would help you with your son. the important thing is to make sure he knows he is unique and special. afterall most lefties can do most things both handed... no righty can claim that. make sure when he learns to print/write that his paper is slanted to the right. that way he won't have to hold his left hand at an ackward angle. and make sure he has left-handed scissors that no one else uses. otherwise you will bend them slightly open and render them unusable for him. in addition to the uk lefty store (the best) there is one in the states - 1-800-leftie (I think) contact me if i can help you more - peggy

My daughter is left handed, and both my husband and I are not. We actually had someone in a shoe store who was left handed teach her how to tie her shoes! She had to use digital clocks for years as she had trouble with regular clocks, and now that she is learning how to drive, she is often confused as to how to turn the wheel to make the car go certain directions. My advice is to solicit help from left handed people, who have a better understanding of the challenges than we right handed folks do. And take solace that your lefty will probably be more artistic and creative!