When should a child know some colours?

[NotABanana]

I have been wondering if my son is colour blind but he did a test on the internet which said not.

Part of me just wonders if colours don't interest him yet. He seems more aware of numbers and letters but doesn't know that 1 is a number and A is a letter, but knows of them iygwim.

I am a real worrier so don't want to go off down that road but would be interested in some advice please. TIA.

How old is he?

My dd knows the names of lots of colours, and identifies some correctly, though isn't consistent yet. She is 2.3.

How old is your ds?

My dd (2 and a half) knows some but isn't consistant either I think by 3 they should know their colours.

If i say what colour is this she will sometimes get it wrong but if I ask her to get me a red ball, blue ball etc she usually gets it right.

DS knows his colours, basic colours plus brown, silver, purple, pink, mainly learnt using cars, he is 2.10

By the time they start school.

He is 2.11.

He can get red and green and red and blue mixed up. In the doctors for something else he got red and blue right after I had told the GP he didn't know them.

But he doesn't know his number really, I thought he could count to 9 but now is convinced that 8 comes after 1!!

No interest at all in letters, trying to show him his name but not interested. I might have to resort to car number plates, it worked with the colours

If he still cant do it at 4, worry then. Until then it doesnt matter. Have you sat him down and taught him his colours/ Or is he busy doing more interesting things?

I know heaps of children who don't know colours before 3, and heaps that know lots the know indigo and terracotta. It's a wide variation and as long as you have the main ones in the first few months of school it's unlikely to be a problem.

Can he match colours?

2.11 is still very young. My dd2 is just a couple of months younger, and gets her colours mixed up all the time, that's absolutely normal at this age.

I don't think dd1 knew her colours until way after her third birthday - I can't remember exactly when.

It will all come in time. The most important thing you can do is play with them. DD's headmaster told me to forget about "teaching" them when they are under 5, give them plenty of opportunity to play, develop enough strength in their arms and hands to be able to write when they do get to school.

He was saying that he has seen an increase of children who hold their pens and pencils in a fist like hold rather than between their fingers because they dot have the strength to do it.

He says get the play dough out, take them to the park, let them climb these are the important things you can do with you pre school child. The rest of it will come.

Just his opinion I suppose but I listened to me and thought he talked sense.

Sorry, riven.

We have never sat down and tried to teach colours as uch but lately I have started saying things like do you want your red coat or blue coat. He loves mimis so we always talk about what colour it is when he sees one but rarely gets it. I think he is too interested in other things and colours aren't that interesting for him yet but would hate to miss something. DD is very very bright so hard to remember what they "should" be doing.

McDreamy - that's very sensible advice from your dd's headmaster. My friend is an occupational therapist who works with children and she gives me similar advice - and buys birthday presents such as play dough for my children!

I listened to "him" not me

Those of you who do want to help with learning colours might like this book. It's by the same bloke who did the Hungry Caterpillar. Dd loves it.

riven - given your DD's vision problems, I think it's not at all surprising that she finds colour difficult. I was a very bright early talking etc, and I didn't know my colours till surprisingly late (nearly 4). I wouldn't worry about the numbers and letters at all at this stage. I would expect it all to come in the next year NAB - i.e. at 3-4 stage.

My DS is 22 months, but was 3 months prem so until he's 2 we correct his age (as paeds do) so technically he's 19 months. He knows red, green, yellow, and blue. I was VERY chuffed but then...he learned them from the nanny.

CSWS I am in the process of ordering that book, thank you.

DS2 is eating soup and I just asked him what colour it was - his answer was blue.

He is eating tomato soup. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe the names have been switched in his mind?
My DH always calls a rucksack a sleeping bag and vice versa, and the living room the dining room etc etc. He knows what he means, but it just comes out wrong!

Red and Green are the usual ones to get wrong though- ask your health visitor, or GP.

Of course best way to test is to use sweeties- I'm sure he'll soon get them right if he gets to scoff them afterwards

My daughter is 3.6 and knows all her colours, and can distinguish dark/light/bright/dull

dd1 is 3.8. she has known hr colours consistently since she was about 20 months (she couldn't say them very well then, but I knew what she was saying).

She is autistic, and very delayed in a lot of arreas, but her nurser were always impressed that she knew her colours. They said that children don't often "get" colour unti lschool age.

sure enough, when we were looking at schools last year, the local prep were very impressed with her colour recognition. they also said that they get children starting (4+) who are not sure of their colours.