Just 3 and no idea about colours??

[tryingtobemarypoppins2]

Normal, colour blind or a bit delayed?

Not sure - I think I would go for a bit colourblind as my DS was delayed and had very few words, but I think he could do colours at just 3.

I think it's normal - I was panicking about DS1's inability to tell colours apart but his paediatrician said that true colour blindness is rare, and wouldn't be diagnosed until he was much older; in the meantime, he'd probably click with his colours by the time he was 3.5yrs. He worked it out when he was about 2.5yrs.

My neighbour's son grasped colours when he was past 3 - I think that something in their brain needs to slot into place in order for them to tell colours apart and remember them. Just persevere, and try not to worry.

I know but some of this friends know numbers to 20 (by sight!) letters, can write there name (sort of).....DS can count aloud to 20 but as for letters and colours.....ummmm NO!
Sign of later IQ do you think?

sigh...........my Ds can hardly speak, can't say his name or any relatives names at all - but has known his colours since he was before two easily. just goes to show you eh? He is 3.3 and has no other day aside from severe speech delay

He cannot write his name, read or drive the car! He can competantly use a mouse on a computer though

Got nearly 3 yr old twins. Just starting to get there with colours but speech is good numbers good etc

he has also understood the difference between bright and dull and things of that nature (no idea how btw) since before he was 2.5 - thi was all demonstarted with sigining btw

My godson didn't start speaking till he was three, and is now a very bright and articulate boy waiting to hear if he's passed the entrance exams for the local grammar school - I don't think that later speech is necessarily something to worry about.

All children are different, and by the time they start school the vast majority able to speak, recognise colours, and use the toilet, etc. - they just get there at different times.

Make sure you start with one colour, say the colour of his shoes. Then, when you are out, ask him to show you things that are the same colour as his shoes e.g. a sign on a shop or a car and he should get it. That's how I did it with my boys.

However they both used to argue with me about green and grey and said the colour changed when they went close to the window. They both turned out to have somewhat defective colour vision (colourblind)!

I am getting nowhere with teaching DS3 (almost 3yo) his colours. Just doesn't want to know. DS1 knew the colours quite soon after his 2nd birthday. They are all so different.

DS1 and DD both started reception still confused by colours. (no speech delays or sn) We assumed they were colourblind, but they suddenly clicked and were fine. DS was 5 or 6 before he was 100% all the time.
DS2 knew all his colours by the time he was 2. We thought he was a genius

My eldest had no interest in colours yet was bright and reading on 4th birthday.

My youngest knew all his colours aged 2. He loves art but i never worked out how he learnt the colour names as i didn't tell him.

I would get the child's eyes tested - which I think you can viably do at this age.

The thing is that DS3 has a strong preference for yellow. So he definitely does see them, he just won't play along when I try to get him to learn the names of the colours.

DS is 4 and only just started doing colours consistently.

I think colours (well the names at least) have to be taught, either by parents/teachers or something like mickey mouse playhouse. I dont think they pick it up alone

So mention colour as the main adjective when describing everything, start with one colour then introduce one or two more a week. Start with primary colours then secondary then the others like pink/grey etc.

My kids had a game they loved which helped with practice but i'm sure you could prob make up your own games

Ragged, DS1 had a very strong preference for yellow as apparently, if you have colour defective vision, it shines out over other colours. I remember being in a a shop and him dragging me over to see a yellow plastic hanger. I thought this was odd at the time but I understood it when he was found to have this problem.

Sorry, but I don't want to worry you. He's not able to be a pilot but is doing a Master's in Engineering so don't be too concerned if this turns out to be the reason.

I knew that about colourblindness (my old boss is colour blind, and I had to produce lots of pictures for our work).
Most the colourblind men I know confess to struggling to dress in matching colours (by their own admission). This is the only thing about colourblindness in DC that might worry me .

My grandfather was a qualified airplane pilot. Also a general in the US Army -- he was an expert in desert warfare and trained the likes of Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf (good mate). My grandfather was also RG colourblind.

Since his son (my dad) has full colour vision and I am female, from what I understand about the genetics it's highly unlikely that any of my children would be RG colourblind, although I also understand that the genetic mutation can occur in any generation.

No, I think DS3 is just stubborn. Also speech delayed which makes it harder to talk about or understand the words for colours. DH thinks he's deliberately being contrary, insisting that everything must be "bwooo" for instance.

(Contrary, who, my children? At least I read somewhere that contrariness is a sign of intelligence (clutching at straws, here)).

Clinginess -- that's supposed to be another sign of braininess. BLESS whoever came up with that one. :)

ds1 is almost 3, and knows pink, purple, brown, black, blue for a couple of months now. he can't ever remember/distinguish (not sure which) red, green, yellow.

interesting - my son was just not interested in colours (other than 'lellow') so everything was lellow until he was 2.5. couldn't have cared less about colours.

my daughter, on the other hand, is 21 months and knows loads of colours because she likes them! she doesn't ask for something by its name- she points and says 'blue' or 'grey'!

so i think as much as anything (or at least with my 2 kids) it is the being bothered that has determined it. DS couldn't be fagged; DD could...

Surely the children of mumsnetters should be identifying colours such as Dimity, Dead Salmon and Old White off the F&B colour chart rather than common old yellow and green?

Ragged, I've just taught my two that Jeans go with everything. It seems fine so far (they are at Uni though).

No one in my family that I am aware of is RG colour blind and both my DSs Dad has normal colour vision as far as I can work out.

There are so many worse things to have that I'm fine with it.

LOL Pekkala

red/green colour blindness is very common - about 1 in 10 men have the condition. Boys get it from their mothers on the X chromosome so if your father is colourblind your son might be.
Having said that colour vision is still developing up to age 5.
My DS2 can't tell red from blue at the moment (at 2.5).

WOuld you all stop talking about colour blindness, FGS, he's only just 3!