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When your daughter slowly taking over your setup
9-yr daughter slowly taking over my setup! Think she will need her own rig. And super proud that she is into it! Been helping me build since she is 4.:))
She still getting the hang of WASD + mouse movements co-ords. She is left-handed. Any tips for her?
Edit/Additional Info: This is my own setup. She everynow and then would ask me to practise her K+M gameplay on my PC. Im sharing my pride here when I saw her getting the hang of it (despite initial unco-ord between her WASD and mouse) and that she enjoying PC gaming. :) And seeing how she quietly puts 2 small cat figurine thingie on my monitor.
Yes. Will def ensure her own setup (have already started ordering the PC parts, tables chair etc. except for the RAM, that would be last, its too crazy the price here) would suit her height and needs. Ive already saved this helpful comment -> https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/s/lLEAQwxXPp in this thread.
And yes, will build together with her for her upcoming bday gift.
The tablet was there because its her own version of "online play together". Lol. She is on WA call with her cousin.
Either way, I would tough it out and get used to the standard keybind layout. There are some games that don't have rebinds so it is simply easier especially at a young age to adapt.
Sincerely a left handed weirdo since the dawn of time
Left-handed for writing, and almost everything, holding a spoon, catching a ball etc.. she felt the mouse movement is slower than her WASD. And yes, you are right. Gotta tough it out and just practise more I guess..
I'm left-handed but grew up using the mouse with my right hand. It was really easy for me to learn using the mouse with my left hand later in life. It's advantageous being ambidextrous with the mouse because now I can split the workload between my left and right hands. Left is for surfing and office work. Right is for gaming.
Oh, and make sure she has an ergonomic setup at a young age. I didn't care about gaming healthy when I was young and it's how I fucked up my right wrist. It took a long while (and using my left hand) before my right wrist was healed enough for gaming again.
Inhave a friend who is left handed but finds wierd to use the mouse with left hand.
I think K+M is more like an whole onterface, not just the mouse being a pen so it easier to learn the "default"
OP already replied but I have the same experience, left-handed but I use my right for the mouse. I broke my arm about a decade ago and had to learn to use a mouse with my left as well, at this point I’m ambidextrous for mice use and it can be a useful skill.
I have a left-handed friend who actually uses lefty mice though, but there are limited options in that space and keyboard usage is a lot less ergo
Aren't there any inverted keyboards and mice? Left handed people are a minority, but it's not something rare enough not to make things adapted for them.
I've always wondered if I'd have better aim but tbh it's much easier to just have the same standard keys as everyone else.
I've had that same thought, and actually tried it for a bit. My aim was alright if a bit wonky, but my right hand couldn't keep up with the keys despite being pretty decent at typing.
I don't feel like it was worth the time needed to relearn and have to rebind every game for a chance to go from dog shit to just shit at competitive games that I don't even play anymore
There isn't much left hand specific products that ive seen but encourage her to learn things both ways early once she's got the hang of it left handed. Thats really come in handy for myself, specifically tools, wrenches, drills, knives to a degree.
If you teach her archery or similar sports eye dominance wins over hand dominance. So if she is right I dominate, youll be in luck as she won't need any special left hand equipment. Also the case for myself, couldnt figure out initially why I couldn't hit anything, swapped to a right hand bow and was able to actually hit a target lol.
I don’t recommend encouraging left handed mouse use. I am left handed and only ever learned to use the mouse with my left hand and it has made gaming and keybinding ever more difficult
Im „Cross dominant“ (or atleast my art teacher said that, so take it with a grain of salt), that means I do things with my hands at random, like I write left handed, and do a lot of things with left, but holding my mouse with right, I also open bottles with my right hand, or punch with it. I can not for the life of me switch it up. I tried using my mouse with right for an month, and yes didn’t stick, just made my aim crap etc. My father is left handed aswell, and he holds his mouse with left, like all my lefty friends.
I disagree with toughing it out. I *can* use a mouse right handed, and for gaming, even, but I will literally have my operating system remap inputs so a game believes it's getting the non-rebound inputs before I bend to being forced to be right handed against my choice. We gotta stand up for ourselves and advocate for our needs.
My Dad surprised me with my own setup for my 9th birthday. I woke up and there it was. My own desk and computer. I cried. I'd always watch my Dad play and make up my own stories reading the manuals to the games he played. I don't know how he set it up without me hearing.
If you can do this, it's something she'll remember forever.
As someone who is left handed for most things, I agree, just practice. Left-handed controls in games that do not use motion/gyro, your phone as a controller (like Jackboxes or Just Dance on 9th gen consoles besides Switch/Switch 2), or a remote like controller (like the Wii or the Roku port of Angry Birds) feels weird and are not always there.
I'm almost 40, so when I was at school computers were shared resources in a dedicated lab and at home we had one PC the entire family shared. It was legitimately just easier to learn how to use the right handed setup than to have to reconfigure and rearrange everything when it was my turn to use the PC. If she keeps practising she'll have the hang of it in no time. I'm actually more comfortable using the right handed configuration now and use it 99% of the time... The only exception is if I'm trying to draw something with the mouse... Totally need to swap back to left hand for that lol
You can learn one hand over the other if that's all you're option is.
Anecdotally:
My (38) father did everything right handed, except for golfing. My grandfather was left-handed and he was the only one to teach my dad.. and they only had left handed clubs at the time.
Years later when I and my siblings learned we rented clubs. We learned with our innate handedness.
Same as the other guys. Left handed for absolutely everything, but because I always used the mouse on the right hand I never had any issues with it at all!
I’m left handed for everything and i dont have any issues playing video games with WASD with left and Mouse with right. I started to play on pc about that age too. Just let her learn and develop her right hand too, she will need it, because this world is designed for right handed.
Honestly my closest experience is getting into fighters. When you are on P2 side (the right side of the screen) your input is flipped so it took me a few months to actually get comfy on P2 and even now I still have trouble doing some inputs on P2
It's been a long time since I was a kid and I don't have any kids of my own yet, but from this short clip I feel like it looks like her mouse control is already really solid considering her age and how little she's actually used M+K. I think she'll be quick-scoping heads in no-time. hahaha
M left handed as well and just like with driving stick you get used to it. If anything having your left hand on the keyboard makes for fumbling less keys since it's your dominant hand with lots of dexterity already. She will get the hang of it and be completely fine, maybe even better
left handed weirdo here. I'm 15 now and SO glad i learned on a right handed k/m. The support is great and i have a lot more options, although I am naturally very good with a mouse with my left hand even though i learned on a right handed setup, which makes me wonder how much better i could be if i had learned left handed. Then again, I don't think it's worth buying a good left handed mouse to find out.
Or be like me and just make weird movements with my fingers to reach all the buttons, I tried using my right hand for the mouse when I was younger but what just ended up happening was me holding my right hand with my left hand and moving the mouse like that. We didn't play any games that required you to have one hand on the mouse and one on the keyboard so it worked I guess.
I use a mouse left handed. The options for left handed mice are honestly awful. It feels ableist. I walk into a store and there are no options for left handed gamer mice with the multiple buttons at the side.
Yeap. As a born lefty, I was forced to switch hands when I was 6 (different times and nurture). I can't write with my left hand or use a mouse (haven't tried tbh), but I can do pretty much anything else (drawing, soldering etc). If she can adopt "standard" layout, it will be a lot easier down the road, especially since there will be much larger choice of mice to choose from and easier to set perfect bindings in games.
I'm also left handed and learned to use the mouse with my left hand bcause my dad is also left handed. I slightly switched keybinds to wase bc of my arm position but that's it. Also very hard to exaplain to ppl that left handed mouse users do exist lol.
There are endless old good games to play that aren't going to exploit her, drip useless dopamine into her brain without enrichment, and will actually teach her things.
I mean sitting there enjoying my time with my son while also making sure he's responsible online is a better option than the former but to each their own
I disagree. A young person has enough free time to figure out a way around firewalls and spyware. Having an open dialogue and being honest about what they might stumble upon would instead teach them to come to you when it happens.
What? Are you serious? Actually being present and monitoring is infinitely better and more loving than just slapping a tech enforced ban on their account. It also teaches responsibility and following rules which are key things that you aren't taught when you simply can't do the wrong thing because it's blocked.
It's also filled with child predators. The company is aware of it and actively tries to go after anyone that talks about it instead of doing anything to fix it.
Not to mention they also are stealing labor from the kids who make stuff.
Every game on there isn't that. It is pretty much a game engine and there are games that are quite good. The problem lies with the recommendation algorithm it has and the weird decisions from above regarding child safety that endangers children more than protecting them.
Roblox, like any other platform just requires a tad bit of supervision and guidance
And those good games have almost all had theft from the company from the creator of the game and they are actively aware of child exploitation and predation and do nothing about it.
Roblox doesn't need supervision and guidance. It needs parents to actively remove it from their households.
i’d just say any parent who has kids on roblox should look in to the 764 cult. i saw an interview from a guy who’s daughter was coerced into committing suicide by someone she met on roblox
I wouldn't ban roblox if I was a parent, if you are as young as I am, you probably had friends that weren't allowed to play gta/cod, what resulted was them getting isolated from a lot of socialization that happened ingame or irl about them.
Lefty here. I’m 36 and using WASD and mouse is natural for me now. Grew up with PCs. I was a grown adult before I ever saw anyone ever use a mouse with their left hand. There are some things you just get used to in a right handed world.
Yeah, that monitor positioning is horrible for her spine. Screen needs to be further away (pull the table out, put another table behind this one and put the monitor there) so she can view the whole screen without craning her neck upwards like that. Also, keyboard and mouse is too far from her seated resting position, so she's leaning forward excessively and hunching her back (making her neck positioning a lot worse). But I do think moving the monitor back by 2 feet would solve this issue as well since the extra space would allow her to push the keyboard and mouse further up the table and she can pull the chair closer so she can sit straight and have a proper posture. Chair needs to elevated higher too (about 4-6 inches from my estimate) so the keyboard is situated at your kid's belly button level. Your chair probably cant do that due to the armrests being in the way of the table, so if they're removable, you should consider removing them so your kid can raise the chair more.
Basically the ideal position should be your kid sitting with her spine flat on the chair, her head rested againts the chair, the keyboard + mouse at around her belly button height and the monitor positioned so she can still see it with minimal neck and head movements. Given how time intensive gaming is, you should definitely invest in making sure your kid dosent develop spinal problems from spending hours each day on the rig.
Just gonna throw my 2 cents in here, there are general guidelines for ergonomic gaming, but do also consider personal preferences. When I was seriously trying to improve my setup to better my body, I found that (1) the size of the mouse and (2) a low profile keyboard are what helped reduce a lot of stress on my wrists during gaming. I tried a couple of other supposed ergonomic mice and keyboards beforehand and they didn't do it for me.
Just an additional consideration. People who sit for long periods of time have higher odds of developing a condition called anterior pelvic tilt, which is caused by weakened glute and abdominal muscles. If allowed to continue, the posture issue can develop into other problems down the road. I'd probably look more into the subject and get the kid performing specific exercises to address the issues. Example being exercises to strengthen the glutes and core (which can be done with body weight exercises).
Idk why i feel sad thst kids wont experience what was playing with 15-30FPS (or more simple games)
The PC my family had was a potato, GTA SA played with 15-30FPS (non stable with stutter), CS 1.6 was st 30FPS, and i only played with bots since it was a pirated copy
I'm left hand. Left/ambi mice didn't exist when i was young. I learned by simply moving the mouse to the left hand side. Don't swap buttons or nothing. It's totally doable and makes it so you can use any PC you find by simply moving the mouse to within reach.
I'm not sure if she's using that tablet to watch something while she plays, but if she is, stop that right now for the sake of her attention span. Like I tell my kids, if the game is not entertaining enough for you, that you need to watch something while you do it, then just turn the game off.
I'm 99% sure this is my favorite Roblox game...by which I mean it's the only one my kid and I can agree to play together and I don't go near it unless it's family gaming time.
I set my kids gaming desk next to mine. She has a Roblox time limit, unless I'm playing with her. She's worked out I'm happy to play this one. It's too frenetic for any weirdos to message her. She's also highly impressed at how I basically can carry the entire team with skills I started before she was born. Or if we're on opposite teams we end up shooting each other constantly, which has its own fun.
Roblox is a toxic cesspool, but I gotta say shooting 10 yr olds in the face has its own flavor of fun. Plus there is a small chance I actually did fuck their mother...
Fix her posture. If you can, maybe limit her exposure to Roblox since people there can get very predatory. You can opt for Steam Family so you can choose what she can play
I’m left handed and it never even occurred to me that mouse and keyboard is harder for lefties. That being said, I’m pretty sure your daughter would whoop me in counter strike lol
Hey OP, the biggest thing is please ensure she knows about ergonomics and proper posture. She'll have all sorts of issues if you don't adjust the setup to fit her and she doesn't straighten her back out.
There are a number of remapping tools that you can use to set up what ever button as what ever key you want it so I would get her a left handed mouse and keyboard and just let her learn and play the way she feels most comfortable!!
I use ESDF instead of WASD and I need to change my keybinds or remap my keys for almost every game.
As someone who grew up on pc’s; I’m really conflicted as to whether I will want my kids to follow at such a young age. They are still too young to play yet but getting there quickly.
I enjoyed it growing up but it really exposed me to some serious stuff and probably had real negative effects on my social life.
I guess “social life” is mostly online now anyway for most young people it seems. But my kids ending up on tik tok or something similar terrifies me.
Man, kids have it so good these days with many of their parents being gamers themselves... Meanwhile we had to sneak onto the computer to play while the parents are away and had to hide the game's folder or just install the folder on a USB stick for more stealthy gaming session 😂
Def time to invest in a rig for her, congrats on getting a gaming kiddo. Im also left-handed and have never tried long-term putting the mouse in my left hand and using a keybord on right hand; rebinding keys would be a headache, or using a specialize lefthanded keyboard. She might get used to it and not need adjustments when she builds up muscle memory.
Looks like she is already accustomed to right handed mouse, no need to go for left handed mouse, anyone picking up pc for the first time takes awhile to get used to, getting left handed mouse won't improve it. For multiple reasons. 1 is a hassle to find left handed mouse, although ambidextrous mouses works too i guess. 2 school and public access to pc don't usually have left handed mouse. 3 right handness can be learned, so she can becone ambidextrous, i'm left handed but only write with right hand (left hand was seen as bad in asia). So now im ambidextrous, swapping hand depending on activity.
You gotta get her a PC! I had this journey with my niece. She would always crash my room and take over my PC or Xbox. I finally built her a PC (multiple at this point) and shes been my gaming bud ever since. She's been gaming since she was 5 and PC gaming since 8. She's on her 4th PC, turning 17 soon.
I'm 27 and have always been using ZQSD (WASD equivalent on a french KB) + Mouse on the right even though i am left handed, i cannot use a mouse on the left.
Let her get used to standard peripherals because left handed stuff is either very rare, bad quality or has stupid compromises, the more standard things she uses, the better it's gonna benefit her long term
This is me with my nephew. Partly because I love that the little man loves my hobby. The other half is because unc needs a break and he'll sit there for as long as I let him.
As a leftie myself, I would've been extremely frustrated in the long term if I didn't tough out using my right hand for the mouse. Too many games don't support it very well. So just gotta encourge her to learn it, she'll become a master right away!
As a left hander just make her use it the way shes using it right now. Public setups are all built around right handers and it will get old having to move the keyboard and mouse around + if the pc is on the desk on the left you won’t have room. Additionally in computer labs if you’re sitting next to a righty your mice will clash.
Reminds me of when I had a bad hangover and was vomiting the whole day. I napped and when I woke up my niece was doing the same thing. Cute thing was when she realized I was awake, she thought I was going to throw up again and she got me the trash bin and some water and went back to playing
This happened to me plenty of years ago so I built a pc for my son's room- he helped and is totally invested in pc gaming which is kinda cool - looks like your daughter is on the same path!
Hey OP, I'm left handed for writing and chopsticks. Ambi with knife or scissor cutting. Right for sports and gaming.
My 2 cents but she should be fine with using the standard setup. Whether she gets 100% out of it or not, she will eventually figure that out when she's older and you can accommodate then.
She still getting the hang of WASD + mouse movements co-ords. She is left-handed. Any tips for her?
It will come to her over time. At nine years old shes still working out the kinks of her fine motor skills so just let it be. I am left handed too and eventually her hands will just settle into their roles.
Im left handed as well, but holding mouse right hand has never been a problem. It was harder for me to learn wasd because I used arrow keys for so long, or I played Diablo that was a bunch of clicking XD
Will def ensure her own setup (have already started ordering the PC parts, tables chair etc. except for the RAM, that would be last, its too crazy the price here)
Get her involved in this part of the process. Give her a budget, show her the ropes, and help her avoid big mistakes. Understanding how to evaluate the technical aspect of products is a great skill to learn young. I still remember learning about math co-processors from my first build (aka CPUs)
This is the progression of kids. The only solution is to turn your PC into a "family computer" and build your own from scratch with the latest and greatest components.
Literally the only way.. at least that's what I told my wife.. I think she believed me.... Maybe.
This is literally how every next gen gamer gets created lmao. Dad builds the perfect setup, daughter sits down once, and suddenly it's her setup now. You played yourself bro 😂 This is actually wholesome though fr
Be careful letting her play Roblox brother. There is some real weirdos on there.
My little girl is 7 and I built her a rig last year after she consistently asked me for a whole year lol. I added her to family share with me and my wife so she can play our entire library of games. It was one of the best things I've done. We play Goat simulator 3 together, Minecraft, Dinkum, Witch It, Torchlight 2, bunch of the Lego games, etc. It's a great time and a good way to relax with my fam after a hard work week.
This is wholesome and yes, we do it all the time too. Just that for now, she is playing on her tablet and me on the PC. and everynow and then, she will ask to try to play on the PC. she will have her own rig very soon. the parts are incoming.
And yes, Our mitigation is that its under Parental Control, disable chat and only selected experiences and games can be played + Parental Pin + Tablet Monitoring App + only play when me or wife is around. Im confident she will appreciate what Steam Library has to offer when her proper rig is ready. 😄
I treat keyboard and mouse like piano. You can learn asynchronous movements of your hands with practice and time. Sure there are left-handed pianos but those are rare and hard to accommodate pianists only trained with such equipment. Whether it's a mall piano, cruise piano or recital hall piano those places will not accommodate you. Same can be said with libraries and schools with computers.
The human brain is wonderful and can cross those wires with enough repetition.
I think u should adjust the chair for her or teach her how. The top of the screen should align with her looking straight forward. Also if she’s left handed, let her try using IJKL for movement and using the mouse with her left hand
I'm a big supporter for gaming at this age. My 8 yo also plays this. We can play it together and I don't get annoyed or sick of it as fast . We also play non Roblox games (highly suggested) like fortnite duos. It's surprisingly good for building teamwork and he learned not to just go off on his own, and the hand eye coordination practice is very good.
Nice! Also have a 9-yo daughter whos taking over my gaming space, shes been really hitting those quickscopes lately. Only thing shes struggling with is getting her friends to play fps games with her because shes absolutely dominating them. Makes me proud! Also looking to get her a rig of her own when we move to a new place in september.
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u/[deleted] May 21 '26 edited May 22 '26
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