Guide
Fear of injections: what can help children (and parents)?
by Michael Restin
What’s left, what’s right? 5 handy tricks for kids (and adults)
26.4.2023
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Distinguishing left from right can be quite difficult. And not just for kids. Thankfully, these five tips make it a piece of cake.
5 simple methods
But putting evolution and perspective aside: in everyday life, we still have to know where to turn. And this is best learned at an early age. To better teach your kids (or yourself), check out these five tips.
1. Using your fingers
The finger trick is the ultimate hack for school-aged kids. They’ll need to know capital letters, after all. The trick involves stretching out your hands and spreading your thumbs. On your left hand, the thumb and index finger will always form a capital L – for left. On the other hand, the L is reversed, making that the right side.
2. Plenty of books
Practice makes perfect, as we all know. If you consciously give your child tasks involving left vs. right when looking at books and telling stories, they will soon learn the difference. On which page do you see the green tractor? Did you see that black bird on the top left? Is the boy standing to the right or left of his mother? Or ask them to identify that red thing in the upper right corner. Hidden object books are perfect for this.
3. Creatively using body features
My seven-year-old daughter knows exactly where left is. It’s where she has a small birthmark on her thumb. Does your child have a similar body feature? Whether mole, scar, pigment spot or similar, you can explicitly define this feature. Naturally, something uncovered by clothes and visible at a glance is always best. A scar on the left knee covered by trousers is of little use when they’re riding a bike.
4. Play games
5. Singing your way to knowledge
In a car, the driver always sits on the left – at least in this country. The hand on a clock always turns to the right. In principle, your child only needs to remember these two things to figure out left and right. Nursery rhymes are perfect for just this purpose. I promise, the more annoying the song, the quicker they’ll remember the lyrics.
The permanent solution – for adults
If all these tips just don’t work, there’s always this last option: tattoo some initials on the back of your hands – just ask Australian influencer D'Kodia Laine. «My friends would joke about how silly it looks having an adult make the L-shape with your hands to differentiate,» she said in 2021, when her tattoo went viral. Her friend had drawn an L and an R on her hands, respectively. Until she decided on a permanent solution to her problem.
Header image: Katja Fischer
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.
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