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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

When should a child know some colours?

44 replies

NotABanana · 16/05/2008 07:33

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.

OP posts:

Anna8888 · 16/05/2008 13:54

I think a lot of it is opportunity. I've always pointed out colours to my daughter, and get her to describe clothing etc in her books ("a red dress with white spots and a pale pink lace edging"). Once you get into the habit of describing things in terms of colour, pattern etc it becomes second nature.

Original poster

NotABanana · 16/05/2008 13:57

Thank you EPPM.

He doesn't have sweets but I could make some coploured buns. He would love that.

OP posts:

caspercat · 16/05/2008 13:59

My DD is also 22 months, she knows blue, yellow, red, green, purple, black & brown. If i ask her to get me the pen of a certain colour, she always gets it right! All i've ever done is when we do colouring, ask what colour she's using & she's learnt that way. Am sure she learnt a lot of it at nursery though!
I was chuffed, but can be a pain every now & then, cos she's now obsessed by her yellow crocs & wants to wear them constantly, which is fine until the heavens open, like they have today

WriggleJiggle · 16/05/2008 14:00

If dd consistently gets blue and yellow muddled, thats more likely to be because she's learnt them the wrong way around (ifswim) rather than colour blindness isn't it? She is very good at all the other colours, but just can't 'get' blue and yellow.

I'm trying not to worry, afterall, I don't worry about her counting to 10 and missing the number 7. Its just a developmental thing isn't it?

Original poster

NotABanana · 16/05/2008 14:02

Happy for all you guys but it is making me more [sad[ for DS.

OP posts:

witchandchips · 16/05/2008 14:02

My ds knew them all (including grey and brown) at around 19 months but hey he stuck his willy in the washing machine the other day and had a wee (aged 3) They are all so different.

sweetkitty · 16/05/2008 14:04

DD2 was about 22 months and she knew most of her colours, she also likes lining things up in colour order like megablocks. For about 6 months now she has told us her favourite colour is purple (probably because DD1 told her that's her favourite colour!)

DD1 was a bit older I think, DD2 thinks she is DD1's twin and anything she can do DD2 can do as well. I think children with siblings close in age tend to be quicker at everything, DD2 certainly has, she is so competitive.

Bumbleybee · 16/05/2008 14:08

My ds2 only knows pink as pink is ds1's favourite colour, much to daddy's horror

EachPeachPearMum · 16/05/2008 14:20

Oh Nab- try not to worry (I know, easier said than done). At the end of the day they are all different.
Dd (2.3) may know her colours, but she cant actually get from standing to lying down yet! Or climb out of her cot, or go up and down stairs/steps etc.
If he is colour blind- it isn't the end of the world, and to him, he's never known any other world either, so he's not 'lost' something.

The other thing to consider is- maybe colour of thing just isn't important to him?
I know for a fact- I don't see colours much- if I look at a list of words in differing colours, their colour doesn't register for me, just the word- yet for Dh he would only see the colour not the text IYSWIM.
Maybe the size or shape of objects is what is important to him?
Maybe get him to classify (posh speak for make groups of) things- eg bricks, cups, cars etc- does he group those of simialr size, colour, shape etc?
It may just not be a big thing for him what colour something is!
HTH

Original poster

NotABanana · 16/05/2008 14:26

You are right. I am convinced colours just aren't that important or interesting to him yet.

OP posts:

tori32 · 16/05/2008 14:32

They aren't expected to know colours until they start school. Like everything it depends on how much you practice them/ incorporate learning them into daily activities. My dd1 knew all her colours reliably at 2.0 and is now learning light and dark colours and more obscure ones like lilac, turqoise etc. I CM so the children I had all learned these sorts of things through everyday objects i.e. would you like the pink or red cup? iyswim.
So in answer to the OP he sounds normal, not behind.

BrassicaNapusNapobrassica · 16/05/2008 14:35

My DD is 2.6 and knows all her colours, numbers up to 20, all her letters (capitals and lower case) but her speech is really hopeless and she has been out of nappies and back in them again about 5 times.

bodiddly · 16/05/2008 14:46

I really wouldn't worry about it. My ds is 3.2 and gets his colours right (basic colours) about 80% of the time. I was told by the optician when I went for an eye test, that it was 99% likely that he is colour blind. I am colour deficient and as the female is the carrier of colour blindness apparently it is nigh on impossible for him to have avoided taking on some form of deficiency. That said, it is taking him longer but he seems to be getting there! Colour blindness takes so many forms and 2.11 is still very young and they learn things at such different rates. I really wouldn't worry ... I am an interior designer and it has never hampered me!

Original poster

NotABanana · 16/05/2008 16:11

He guessed right for the red and blue cars that he saw but initially said the new car I bought him was blue. (actually red.)

OP posts:

twentypence · 17/05/2008 20:39

At that age a child doesn't always reliably hear both bits of the question, You have asked him for a colour and mentioned his car.

He named a colour for you - just not the one you wanted, ie he didn't process the bit about the car.

Ds knew his colours before 2, but if you showed him two identical pictures with just the main colour changed and asked him what the difference was at 3 he wouldn't know. Change a physical fact (like remove an eyebrow) and he'd be onto it like a shot.

2point4kids · 17/05/2008 20:46

DS is 2.8 and he gets red and blue muddles up as well!
He can easily spot yellow and orange but is still quite hit and miss with most of the others. Sometimes he gets them right, sometimes wrong. If he is ever completely unsure of a colour as it isnt common for example silver then he will always hazard a guess at it being blue lol
I am not worried. i can see he is learning them slowly but surely.

I have ordered that book (from play.com free postage!), thanks it looks great.

2point4kids · 17/05/2008 20:48

Actually I tell you one thing DS CAN do, even if he cant remember the colours.. thats sort them!

Cut out some coloured card into little squares and put them all in front of him. Pick out a red one and ask him - can you find another one the same?
I bet he will pick it up quite quickly.

LaDiDaDi · 17/05/2008 20:52

Dd is 2.0 and knows main colours very well, I think that it's something that they should be able to do by the age of 3.

tribpot · 17/05/2008 20:53

ds is 2.11, is quite good with some colours (yellow "lellow", red, blue), rubbish at others, e.g. black is often pink - go figure. Orange is always lellow, green we seem not to have under control at all.

I do wonder a little bit about colour blindness as my grandad is colour blind and it runs down the male line, I seem to recall.

However, other days he can do other colours so I tend to put it down to toddlerishness.

ds is quite good at recognising numbers due to the CBeebies website, lots of great games for littlies. Is hopeless at letters really and def doesn't understand the difference between them, just calls them all 'numbers' which seems perfectly reasonable.

Having said that, he did have a term for words: "o-o-ooh" for ages. This is because I have a t-shirt that says "blood-sucking scum" on the front from the days when I was a contractor . When he was tiny he used to point to one of the o's and I would say "o-o-ooh" pointing at both o's (why? What on earth did I think this would achieve?). Anyway, for AGES, I mean YEARS, he called all written stuff 'o-o-oooh'.

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