My son will celebrate his 2nd birthday on March 30th, and I am a bit worried that he may be color blind. Over the last couple of months I have been working with him on counting, the alphabet and colors. He is doing GREAT at counting and GREAT at his alphabet, but he isn't doing so well with his colors. I have noticed that whenever he picks up the colors green, yellow or blue he always says green. Whenever he picks up the colors red, orange or purple he calls them purple. I don't really know much about being color blind, or what colors they typically mistake for each other. I am also having a hard time determining when I should talk with the pediatrician about it. I can't decide whether or not it is a development issue, or if he really is having trouble distinguishing between his colors. If anyone knows anything about being colorblind, please, please, please educate me. Thanks for the help.
First, let me start off by saying how much I appreciate every one taking the time to give me advice. My first son was a very quick learner and he picked up on his colors very quickly. As a mom it is very hard to not compare your younger children's "milestones" to those kids that have already been there. Because of the way my first son learned, I of course expected Bodhi to do the same. I took many of your suggestions to heart and started spending around 30 minutes a day coloring with Bodhi and just repeating every color I picked up. Every couple of minutes I would say, "Whats this color...or where is the yellow crayon?". I have seen a VAST improvement in his overall understanding of the colors. I guess I was just going about my teaching in the wrong way. Since we have started our "coloring sessions", he is missing the answers less and less. He can now accurately pick out colors around 75% of the time which is a lot better than what he was doing. I don't expect my kids to be Einstein, but I was concerned about this mainly because I just wanted to know how I could help him, or what I would be required to do. I know colorblindness is a pretty typical thing and I know that it really isn't anything to worry about. I guess I just needed the reassurance of...this is normal, not a big deal at all. Thanks again to all of you that responded. You made a situation that was sort of stressing me out into a fun and interesting experience. You gals are great.
My nephew did this, as well, but about two or three months ago (at age 2 1/2), he suddenly knew all the colors correctly.
I wouldn't worry yet!
It's typical that your son would be inconsistent in identifying colors at this age...my son is a little older than yours and still does that. Colorblindness probably can't be diagnosed until he is in school. (That's from my experience as an early childhood teacher.) My husband is color-blind and wasn't formally diagnosed until he was in elem. school, around 3rd grade, I think. Of course, that was 30+ years ago. Once your child is in kindergarten you may want to check into it if he is still having difficulty discriminating between colors. Remember he's not even 2, don't push him. I think you'll find it comes when he is developmentally ready.
For future use, there are tests on the internet that you can use when he is older. Search "colorblindness tests". Hope this helps!
J.
My son called everything LELLOW! Until he turned two in July. Now he knows all his colors. I would speak to your pediatrician when you for for his 24 month check up. Chances are, he/she will delay any testing for a bit longer because developmentally, boys are often delayed more than girls.
My husband is color blind. He never knew it until he went in the Marines when he was 20. But I thought it is like a only a definciency in like 2 colors like red or green. I know they test by putting lines up with different colors.
But don't freak out. It isn't going to ruin his life and it won't make him not be able to see a red stop sign or anything. It isn't like that. And my husband is better putting color together than I am and is more fashionable in color than I am. So don't worry.
What your son may be going through is something that color is just not his thing and he will be weak on that part. So he isn't going to be an artists. Who cares! As long as he has his abc's, don't worry about the colors right now. It will come to him later.
I believe it has to come from someone on your mothers side like her father but I am not sure about that. Is anyone on either side color blind? I looked up on the internet and www.drgreene.com has alot on there. He is a pediatrician so read about it there and then do a google search and read some there.
Hope this helps.
I don't know anything about being color blind, but my daughter will be 2 next month. If you ask her what color something is, no matter what the correct answer is, she will say blue! haha So I just don't think they are old enough yet to remember the colors. Keep practicing with him. I read somewhere that you cold try getting small balls in different colors (one of each color) and have both of you sitting on the floor with your feet against his (making an open area between the legs to contain the balls). Hold all of the balls in front of you, then one by one roll a ball to him and ask what the color is. Tell him the correct color & have him roll it back to you. This will help him with his colors as well as coordination with his hands (catching & rolling the balls).
Good luck!
Hi. There are different types of color blindness. My husband is color clind, he can't distinguish between beige tones and greens (looks the same to him). But he can tell the difference between navy and black ( go figure). He wasn't diagnosed until he was in kindergarten when he was sent to the principal's office because he kept telling his teacher his dog was green. Hope that helps.
M.
Well I posted a response to this and for some reason it's not here so I'll do a 'Take 2'.
The colors he's saying seems to me he just may not have it down in his head yet. It could be he needs more practice sorting blocks or plastic teddy bears in order to learn them. However, I hope I can give you some reassurances about colorblindness.
I have 2 sons, Joshua age 9 and Addison age 20. Both boys are colorblind. Both of my sisters boys are also colorblind. Colorblindness is passed down on the mother's side of the family, don't know why, but it is.
It hasn't been a huge burden on either one of them. When my oldest son was young we suspected it because when he would color he chose the oddest colors to do things...green teddy bears, purple skies. When he was 8, he fell from a 2nd story window & suffered a severe head injury which caused his optic nerves to swell. After he recovered, he was given an eye exam to ensure no permanent damage had been done. One of the test was a colored dot test ( which you can find here:http://home.sc.rr.com/mikebennett/colorblind.html#Top) He failed it miserably, I could see the numbers across the room, he could not. That is when they made it official. Then when our Joshua came along and I was working with him (I homeschooled them for a long while) I noticed the same pattern..green/brown and purple/blue. So we just though ok, one more. Now that he's in school, I just make sure his teachers know he's color blind, I put it on registration papers, etc. so that if they do something like color/paint by number he wont get counted wrong. Or a test that requires him to 'circle the brown ball or draw a line to the blue ball'. And I also buy crayons and colored pencils with the names of the colors written on them to help him out.
There is no treatment of cure for it as it is the way the rods and cones were shaped at birth. It does limit some of the jobs they can do. They can't be electricians, pilots or special forces in the Army (much to my sons disappointment). We still help them from time to time, especially Joshua, with their clothing choices. I worried when my son started driving but those colors he sees just fine, and he knows the position of the lights as well. He's never had an issue with his driving. I told them I would never tease them and tell them something was one color when it was in fact another. I bought some tennis shoes for my 9yo and he hated them, thought they had pink on them, it was grey. So once he knew that, and knowing I wouldn't 'sneak something by him' he was fine with them, they were cool then.
He can probably be tested if he knows his numbers really well but doctors may want to wait a little longer. It's an adjustment in life, but not a hard adjustment.
If you want to talk more please feel free to email me privately.
WOw ...I'm amazed that a child not yet 2 is doing great at numbers and alphabet! I remember I thought my son was red/green colorblind til he was almost 4..cause he always mixed up these 2 colors....but not anymore :) I don't think you have anything to worry about...I might mention it at his 2 yo check-up...but that young it is NORMAL to get stuck on one "thing" My son called every letter A til he was almost 3..lol Congrats on such a bright boy!
While this may be the case, i also thought that my daughter was color blind for a while. Everything she picked up was blue. Once in a while she would spout off the right color but more often than not she would always reply with the same concerning answer ITS BLUE!!! my daughter is now 3 and knows her colors. If it isnt a case of Colorblindness than i think that you should step away from colors for a week and than go back to them. He may just not be ready for it. It seems so simple to us(knowing colors) but to them it can be very confusing and complicated. Especially if your son is advanced. He may wonder why the crayon is yellow. Making comparisons can help too. For intance...this crayon is yellow. Like the banana you ate for breakfast. Or this banana is yellow, like your duck stuffed animal. And than show him these things. try not to worry just yet. best wishes J.
Your son is probably just having a bit of trouble telling the difference between colors, but if he is color blind, really it isn't a big deal. My father is color blind, and the only adverse effects is that he really don't match too well (hehe he put me in a burgundy dress with neon pink tights to "match" for example when I was a child). It's a part of him, and I adore all of him, including his in-ability to match well, it's rather cute. Color blindness is not such a bad thing, I can't offer you any advice as far as how to go about helping him deal with color blindness, but I CAN offer encouragement and say that's it's perfectly normal, and kinda sweet!! (One out of every twelve men are color blind!)
Kids go through a stage where everything is pink or green or purple or whatever color. Give him something to sort such as red and blue m&ms or red and yellow beads. Can he sort them into piles correctly? If he can sort 2 colors, add a third color, etc. If he can sort the beads correctly (without naming them) then he can obviously see the difference in the colors and I would not worry too much. Colors sometimes take a while to learn. Good luck.
My grandfather(maternal), my father, my husband and both my sons are color blind. The colors they have the most trouble with are green/brown/red. The only real issues I know of is that it kept my grandfather out of WWII and I had to make sure all the crayons and colored pencils had names on them (also has caused fights about what color things are and some fashion issues!) It is a gene passed from the mother's father to the grandchildren. It is almost exclusively male but I do know one woman who is color blind. It is nothing to worry about and the eye dr will test for it at your son's first eye exam - make sure you ask if they forget.
I would not worry to much. Just because he is not getting them immediately does not mean he cant distinguish them. It may be that it is a hard thing to learn and it will take more work. Colorblindness normally runs in the family and is not very common, although more common among boys. If he is colorblind he will eventually name the colors correctly based on the different shades they are. I would recommend getting basic eye exam from your local optometrist that you know sees small children all the time. They will make sure his eyes are developing properly and reassure you. If you are unsure who to have look at him go under the American Optometric Association website www.aoa.org and look under the title "Infant See". Those doctors will give you more insight and relieve the worries that you have. I am a
Hey C. -
I thought one of our children was color blind also as he seemed to not be able to identify colors. I printed off this test from http://colorvisiontesting.com/online%20test.htm and was sure he wasn't going to pass.....he did. Saw everything. I have no idea if it is really legitimate, but it is worth a try just to see. Our pediatrician wasn't worried at all and eventually he learned all his colors :) Hope this helps.
I've read that children don't really start learning colors until between 2 & 3 yrs old. Our child is younger so we haven't crossed that path yet but there is a simple test that can be done to test color blindness. Go to this website http://www.everwonder.com/david/colorblind.html. See if your child can see the numbers in the circles. About 20% of the population is color blind to some extent. Talk to your pediatrician about it, too. You shouldn't feel like you have to wait for the right time to ask a question that's obviously causing you concern.
I thought the same thing when my daughter was about your son's age and was told that you can't tell colorblind until they are at least 4 years old. Interesting enough, everything was green to her as well. Within a month or two she started getting her colors down. No worries.
we were wondering if our oldest son (who is now 5 years old) was going to be color blind.. his father is.. but i don't believe he is.. we tried to do a color blind test (at age 4) at the eye dr., & they said to try back in a year or 2 just to be sure.. but he still gets confused with some colors.. but with the colors it's usually like greens, grays & darker colors that they can't tell the difference with..or pink.. lol thats how his father is anyway. not sure if it's like that in every case..
hope i helped a little! :)
Hey C.,
I am new here but I was reading your message above and I had the same problem with our 3 year old son! He couldn't see the color red! Red was blue to him! But we just let him do his thing and didn't correct him, we just kept asking him what color is this (red)block? We even went to the doctor about it. She said don't worry! He's still just a baby and his eyes are still growing, he would get there soon. And you know what? He did!!! One day we asked him what color is this (red) magnet? And instead of saying blue as usual, he said red! Now he knows the colors in English, Spanish, and Chinese! So, don't fret like I did, your child is still technically a baby!!! Give him time, and girl you need a break! I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old and a stay at home mom, and that's a handful for me, you have your plate FULL!!! You go girl!
