LEFT-HANDED CHILDREN

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1926, Page 1

LEFT-HANDED CHILDREN

AUCKLAND, April 27. A remarkable characteristic of children ili schools lias been noticed by anfant mistresses in Auckland during this year. It is the great increase in the number of left-handed children, and also the fact that the children always seem to write upside down-, as if they saw everything reversed. This matter was brought forward at the close of the meeting of the National Council of Women by a delegate of the Teachers’ Association, who asked leave to consult Dr Mildred Stalev on the subject as to whether their eye-sight was affected. Dr Staley explained that it came from a disturbance of the motor centres, which were very close to tho sensory centres of the brain, and parents should be very careful not to press on children whose left-litiiidedness was their form of self-expression and selfdevelopment of other ideas, as it often

brought ,on (stuttering. The speech centre was on the left side and muddle occurred when the right centre was

upset, and in many cases it was known to lead to stuttering or abnormalities in vision.

ITofossor Hunter bad discovered that 18 per cent, of children were left-

lihnded, and it was best- to leave the child left-handed and make no sensory disturbance, as, if forced, tho child might get stuttering and eye trouble, often in the form of a recurrent squint.

Abnormalities were not now regarded with such disfavour as formerly, and as they were a form of self-expression, parents did not repress left-limidediiess so liiueh as formerly, and this might account for the greater number noticed in the infant schools.