Learning Colors

[MaeFlowers]

Okay, I do understand that my dd is only two (28 months), but I am starting to get concerned because she is not learning her colors. Her first book was a book of colors and we read it until it fell apart. That was probably a year ago. She can say color names but does not connect them with things that are that color. For example, if i ask which car is red, she will point to a brown car or she will point to a red car and say blue. She can count to ten and knows some of her letters. She learned those quickly but colors just are not clicking.

I hope you don't think I'm being silly, it just seems odd. I probably shouldn't compare but even though ds couldn't say his color names, he could point out colors at this age. I just don't know what is normal here.

[AimeeM]

Has her vision been checked? I don't think you're being silly. Although children obviously shouldn't be compared, if she is easily grasping things like letter recognition, but is having a hard time distinguishing between certain colors (red and brown would concern me a bit more than red and blue, for example), I would have her vision checked. If all was fine there, I wouldn't stress, though.

[Myra]

I am not making light of your concerns at all but I thought I would share this "funny" with you.

Years ago, when my youngest was trying to learn his colors, there were certain colors he could never identify.  I was concerned. After failing a general screening in his office (colored circles of dots with shapes inside of them to test for color blindness), the pediatrician was just getting ready to give us a referral for a comprehension eye exam when I got the bright idea to ask my three-year old son why he doesn't know certain colors.  His answer was that he doesn't like the looks of certain colors so he's pretending that they aren't there!  Once we explained that we were concerned that he couldn't actually see the colors, he identified them all accurately.  Another, of many, embarassing moments with this child at a doctor's office - but I was relieved! 

 

Myra

[Arcadia]

My younger boy just wasn't interested in colors and would just say whatever he fancy. We did have him do the color blind tests which he didn't have a problem differentiating colors. He can sort Legos by color. He was only serious about giving the correct color name in K.

 

Can your child sort toys or laundry into different color piles?

[silver]

My son could not sort by color at 28 months. He would not indicate that two duplo blocks of the same size and shape could possibly be different, even if they were vastly different colors. He knew color names, but couldn't associate them with anything. Color "hunts" ("let's find anything that is red!") didn't work. I found color blindness tests online to see if he might be color blind (nope).

 

The one activity that worked to get it to "click" for him was this:

* Take a piece of colored paper and cut identically sized circles out (maintaining both the circles and the holes). I used a compass and cut directly on the line. I gave this to him as a puzzle to put together. The circles could fit in any hole and they matched each other and the background. That was simple for him.

* Then I took a 2nd color of paper, and cut the same sized circles out of that. I gave it to him as a puzzle on its own, without the other color puzzle around.

* Once he was fine with either puzzle, I gave him both puzzles with both sets of circles at the same time. He knew what each finished puzzle was supposed to look like (orange circles in the orange puzzle, blue in the blue) from doing each individually before. Somehow, this got it to click in his head that color is an attribute that can make two otherwise identical things be different. It was no longer an issue for him.

My plan, had it not worked after combing the two puzzles, was to continue creating puzzles of different colors. I was going to have him work with just one color, emphasizing its name. I would have continued to combine two puzzles, then three, and continued. I'm not sure what about this activity got it to "click" for him, but it worked.

[MistyMountain]

A lot of kids on here do things early. None of my kids knew colors until about 3 when they suddenly could name all the colors. It is still within normal development to not know them at 2. I worried about stuff like that too and asked about it online.

[MaeFlowers]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It just seems so strange to go over colors practically everyday and for there to be not one sign of recognition. We have tried color sorting with legos and with blocks. Obviously, neither worked. I guess we will just keep at it. I'll have to see if I have any construction paper tonight and maybe tomorrow we can try those puzzles!

 

Myra...I love your story. I wouldn't put past dd to do something like that either!

[Rosie_0801]

Mine didn't know colours at that age either. She big, fat, didn't care!

[Renai]

Mine didn't know them at 2 either. At 3.5, she knows them, and we didn't particularly work at it. We just pointed at colored objects and talked about them throughout the day. I worked as a prek teacher and had 4 yos that didn't know their colors. They knew them by K. Not knowing colors at 2 is a burden you can remove from your shoulders. :-)

 

Enjoy the journey!

[Rachel]

My son is just a bit younger than your child. He is aware of colors but he doesn't know any of them. I'm not even sure if he knows what a shape is. I'm not worried, it will click with him one day.

 

I think your child will natuarly learn them in the next few months whether you practice or not. I suggest pointing colors out in natural conversation, "See that ball? It is blue." "Your favorite blanket is white." "Would you like to wear your red shirt or green shirt?" Etc.

[LostintheCosmos]

None of my kids have known their colors at 2, and apparently it's actually a much trickier thing to learn it seems: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-johnny-name-colors/

[dragonflyer]

I would not be worried at 2, even with the other areas being a bit advanced.  Drop the color work for a few weeks then try again.  They will click when she is ready.

[fdrinca]

I had two that learned early and quickly, and the third didn't pick up on it as quickly. I was questioning he was color blind, but he could match "same-same" Duplos, so I knew he could see colors but couldn't put words with what he sees.

[KrissiK]

it took my second dd a long time to learn her colors.  I thought she was LD, I thought she was color blind, etc. etc. Well, she's five now and knows them perfectly so.... with some kids, it just takes a while.

[Tanaqui]

She's not even three yet. Some kids take longer than others, and she's not even unusual :) I bet that while you're worried about her color knowledge, you don't even realize there's an area where she's "advanced", such as it is, compared to her brother.

 

Some studies say it helps to disassociate colors from items, to refer to "The balloon that is red" or "that shirt, which is green", rather than "the red balloon" and "the green shirt". They came out long after all the kids I knew had their colors down, so I don't know from personal experience.

[Guest jonioesque]

He can sort Legos by color. He was only serious about giving the correct color name in K.

[boscopup]

Mine learned colors at age 3. They all recognized letters and their sounds before they could name colors. I really wouldn't worry quite yet. Developmental activities like this don't come any earlier by working with them more. :)

[KrissiK]

Mine learned colors at age 3. They all recognized letters and their sounds before they could name colors. I really wouldn't worry quite yet. Developmental activities like this don't come any earlier by working with them more. :)

No they don't. And for some personalities, it could lead to frustration. I would just continue to do what you are doing, "let's wear your red shirt today!", "look at that blue car", etc. it'll come!

[Susan in TX]

I was concerned when my 9th child still didn't know her colors when she was three so I googled it and discovered that most kids don't learn colors until age 4 and it is perfectly normal to not have complete mastery until age 6. http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Cognitive_End_3_4_5/

 

 

Susan in TX

[Targhee]

Relax. My third child was nearly 4 before she had her colors down. She's fine, really.

[duckens]

I'm glad you're aware of your child's abilities, but it's hard to tell what direction a child will go when they are so young.

1) Colors?  Dd7 wasn't even talking at age 2!  The standard is 5 words by age 1.  She had 4 by age 2.  And yet at age 7, she is a regular Word Girl who dabbles in several languages.

 2) Your child just may not care.  Dd had one little friend at preschool who had no interested in learning his letters and sounds and to read.  He just had no interest.  Of course, in his free time, he was counting to 1000 (at age 4.5) and he had a financial maturity (no impulse buying, saving sincerely) of a child many years older, but words held no interest for him at this time.

Try teaching him with M&Ms.  See if he can identify the colors then!

[beaners]

She's not even three yet. Some kids take longer than others, and she's not even unusual :) I bet that while you're worried about her color knowledge, you don't even realize there's an area where she's "advanced", such as it is, compared to her brother.

 

Some studies say it helps to disassociate colors from items, to refer to "The balloon that is red" or "that shirt, which is green", rather than "the red balloon" and "the green shirt". They came out long after all the kids I knew had their colors down, so I don't know from personal experience.

I have a two year old about the same age as the OP's who is average/bright for his age. He is hit or miss on red and blue. I don't think he knows any of the others. His four year old brother is just mastering primary colors, but he does have language delays. Last year an evaluator at our home tried to tell me he knew colors because he cried for his brown bear and his blue bear. He didn't know the colors. To him, those were the bears' names.

[ElizabethB]

My son did not until 3. However, my neighbor thought he did at 2, but he was just copying his sister's sentences, he would say the blue bars after she did but could not identify blue on his own until around 3. I tried to explain that he really didn't, but she didn't believe me, she was sure that if he could use it in a sentence he actually knew what he was talking about.

 

He also a bit later started copying his sister's why questions and I had two of them asking why for a few months, one that really wanted to know why and one that just said whatever his sister was saying, that was annoying...