Teaching Colours?

[JoJo860]

Hi!

I have a 2 year old son who is developing really well and has no problems with his speech or physical development. However he just doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of colours. I spend so much time going through books and talking to him about the colours of his cars etc, but if I ask him what colour something is he just says 'Green' lol.
He has a cousin who is 12 days younger than him and he has known his colours for some time now (although the difference in them physically is massive so they are developing at different rates anyway!). The problem being that my MIL seems to think it's a race between them and because my boy isn't reciting colours as well as his cousin I am being pushed to teach him and made to feel like he's behind.
Does anyone have any tips to help me to get him to grasp this? Or is it just something he will learn in his own time and I just need to wear my armour when the MIL visits and tell her to stop pushing him/me/us?

Don''t you worry Happy Days, I'm enjoying my children immensely - which happens to include being fascinated by how they learn, how they learn so much so quickly, and how some concepts are trickier than others. They are forming hypotheses and testing them from shortly after birth!

I've taken dd to the Babylab a couple times to help research these things - she loved it and I got to chat all about my child to someone who is actually interested inwhat they do.

Good for you Notcitrus. Child development is fascinating and your understanding enables you to gain insight into your little ones everyday achievements. It was the worry that seems to have arisen about whether one child is up to some standard at the age of two just because another is able to recognise some colours.

It's hopefully reassuring for the OP that every poster on this thread has said that she shouldn't worry as he isn't behind. Everyone has reassured her that it will come in its own time.

Sorry for commenting on your thread weeks later after you posted it, OP!

My mum came up with a fantastic way of teaching us colours... she used Smarties with us, but you can use M&M's, Skittles, or something less sugary if you can find it. (This was in the days before everyone worried about what they fed their children on).

She poured out the Smarties on the table, lined up one of every colour and told us the names. If we remembered and got the colour right, then we got to eat the Smartie. If we got it wrong then she ate it. It's not exactly PC, but it worked for us, plus a few other family friends whose children were having trouble learning their colours! Good luck!