Learning Colors - Tucson,AZ

Hi B.,
Relax, the fact your son at 18 mos is talking at all is pretty good. He'll start to realize that everything has color especially since mom points things out like see the white clouds in the blue sky as your outside or in the car. Fingerpainting with jello (disolved not formed) is a bit messy but sometimes children associate touch with things better. If it makes you feel good, my oldest son, now 12, didn't talk until almost 3, and my youngest child, now 2 still is just learning.

My Son was a Great talker but also had a hard time with his colors. HE really did not have an interest till he was about two years old. My son had a hard time sitting down and reading a book to learn, He learned better when we were going on Nature walks and just talking about everything we see and telling him what color they were.. YOur son is still young, Just keep encourging and make it out of a game.

I used mini M & M's to teach my youngest her colors. First I told her the color and she repeated it, next I ask her what the color was and last I ask her to find a color. It worked great.

I wouldn't be concerned. He'll learn them eventually. My son is 2 1/2 and he knows his colors now, but he didn't grasp them well until recently, within the past 6 months. He's a smart kid, so I tried teaching him colors when he was about 18 months like your son, but my son was clueless. I wouldn't worry about it. My son is more advanced than his two 3 yr old cousins, so there's nothing wrong with him even though he barely learned his colors. And truthfully, I don't even care much if he's more advanced than others or not. When it's all said and done I just want him to be a happy, balanced person who contributes to society.

I don't remember when my son learned his colors 18 months seems early though so think it was after that. He's three now and knows all of them. I just did little things like naming colors when were eating fruit chews or I would buy the colored goldfish and do the same thing.

Your son is very young to be worrying about whether or not he knows his colors. Just continue to make learning fun and the rest will follow. Bring colors into everyday situations like riding in the car and pointing out the colors of signs, trees, cars etc. You can also play a game and ask him to go search through his toys for a specific colored toy. My son really enjoys this!

I do have to say that I think we put too much pressure on our children to learn specific skills at specific ages. All children learn at their own pace. My son is four and STILL confuses three of the colors. I will tell him to try again and then he gets it correct and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he does not like being quizzed. He feels put on the spot and pressure to get the answer correct. When we play games to learn he responds much better. I feel that as long as they know colors, shapes, letters and numbers before kindergarten they are fine developmentally. It does not matter if they learn it at a year, two years, three or four, just as long as they eventually acquire these skills. My background is in child development, I just never finished my degree, so I hope this information helps.

Colors are a concept that children have a hard time understanding. Some Kindergarten children even have a hard time with the concept of colors. It is best to teach colors associated with something concrete (ex. green grass, blue sky, or other things that your child regularly see.) The concept will come but it will take time. I have a degree in early childhood and this is one of the concepts that take the longest to learn because colors are not concrete. They are things children cannot hold or touch or taste so it is a difficult concept. Don't give up. It will eventually come.

Hi B.,

We started teaching our daughter colors around the same time, and she is now almost 27 months. She has known her colors for quite some time, but I did want to show you these great DVDs we bought. You can get them here http://www.preschoolprepco.com/h/i/index.php
I read about them in Parenting magazine, and we let my daughter watch one a few times a week...then we move on to the next if she wants to watch another. Even though she knows her colors, the Colors DVD is her favorite. I would recommend these to anyone!!

Most 18 month olds are just differentiating colors, let alone naming them at all. The normal expected level of development is that they can name ONE color by the time they are 3.
He'll be able to point out different colors to you long before he is able to name them himself.

B., I think they say not to worry about kids grasping colors until at least 4 years old. That's what I read most recently. However, my son is 2 1/2 and has had his colors down for awhile. I don't remember the age he started, though. I am on an online forum of mothers of other 2 1/2 year olds (March babies), and many of the children on that board do not know colors. All that to say...now is not the time to be concerned about a little one not knowing colors. Just keep pointing out colors when you can, and they will learn.

Hi B.,
I believe that every child learns in different ways.. I have a almost nine yr old son an a daughter that will be 5 tomorrow an they are both very smart but I feel that my son learned alot faster than my daughter has... Ummm with my son an with my daughter flash cards an coloring worked great.. If you were to tell your son which color is which it might help him... But I wouldn't worry if he doesn't know them yet he is still young..

hi, B. you should try building bolcks with him with colored blocks. While building have him pass you the colors. I also bought my daughter the v-smile and that worked great with colors. She matsered it in about two weeks. You can also buy him a coloring book with crayons or colorede pencils and color with him and again have him pass you a certain color. I hope this works for you.

Well B. let's not forget that every child is different, so if your son can learn other things so well, it really shouldn't be a concern if he is forgetting his colors! A fun way to help him remember is to associate it with every day living like.....what color shirt do you want to wear?....what color is that truck....what color do you think the dog likes?....what color are the street lights/signs?....why do you think they call it an orange/grape, etc. etc. Make it fun and consistent, incorporate it in with counting, like how many white socks do you have, does daddy wear white socks?...how many of brothers bottles are blue?
etc. I did this with my girls and I still do it with the ones I babysit, I hope it helps you guys! GOOD LUCK!
K.

B.,

Just have patience. Many kids aren't even talking at 18 months. If it were me I'd keep pointing out colors and naming them for him. But I wouldn't try to make it stressful for him.

:-)T.

It seems like on average kids learn colors early in their third year...some do much earlier and some do much later, depending on their interests and experiences. One fun "game" to teach them is loading up a box with random small objects in two or three colors and helping them sort them. Another idea is to work it into whatever you're doing, like coloring, and asking them to "hand me the (color) crayon" and then set it up to be an errorless response, by puting only that color in front of them at first, etc. Also, teaching them the signs to colors helps, especially for a kinestetic learner.

Don't rush him at all. I was a basket case with my daughter who is now six. I thought at 2 she should know her colors. One day about 2 1/2 all of a sudden a light bulb kicked on in her head and she just spit all the colors out, she even got colors like beige and teal! Just keep identifying things, like the red apple, the purple doll and it will just click one day with them. My son picked it up earlier as he heard it from his big sis. However, he has issues at 3 1/2 not identifying letters yet, whereas my daughter knew her letters very young. Each child has their own pace at these milestones. Promise, one day he will just do it. The little boy I watch is 2 1/2 and he just know is doing all his colors.

My daughter who is 2 has been advanced about most things and just does not get her colors. She knows the name of all the colors but cannot identify them. I was worried about it but the doctor said just chill out because she is so smart she just doesn't get that yet. I know my friends son knows his but none of the other kids in her class know colors yet. I just freak out about little things :) You are doing a great job and I am sure out kids will know their colors soon!

B.,

I know that most kids learn their colors fairly early but like you my daughter knows her shapes and is very smart but at the age of 26 months is just getting her colors! My Peditrician said that there was nothing to be worried about as long as her other development was on track. Some kids just have a hard time with colors. You may also want to think about color blindness. What I have been doing with my daughter is just getting some crayons at breakfast or when ever and asking her to take a color and if she gets it right I praise her and if she gets it wrong I just simply say thats silly thats what ever color and ask if she could try again. It has become a game and now she is grasping it much better. Ocassionally she will pick the wrong color just to get a rise out of it. I really hope this helps. J.

My son knew so much at 18 months! His alphabet, his numbers to 20, the difference between a hexagon and a pentagon... But he just could NOT GET his colors. I panicked- told my husband I thought he was color blind and needed to get him tested. Gradually after he turned 2, he straightened them all out on his own. I think it's just something that kids that age can't quite grasp or maybe haven't developed the brain skills to tell the difference! Same as several other women, I had everyone in my family telling me to lay off and remember that he's not even two. Now I have a 20 month old who is not NEARLY as advanced and I realize that so much coming from my first son at 18 months was a sign of a very gifted child- colors or not!

I agree with Janelle...keep doing what you're doing, don't pressure him and don't stress. He'll get there. Let your kid be a kid! While I don't know everything of course, I do have a degree in Early Childhood and have been a teacher for 5 years (taking this year off to be home with my daughter). My daughter just turned 16 months and theres no way I see her spitting out the names of colors in two months, but I'm not worried about it because I know she is not behind in her development at all.

Oh my gosh can I relate to you! I was so nervous that my daughter didnt know her colors when her cousin learned them. Her doctor told me that it isnt a problem until they are 4 and still dont know them. My daughter just turned 3 and didnt master her colors until about 3 months ago. All I can say is dont worry like I did, I drove myself crazy thinking she was color blind because of a surgery that she had on her eyes, when in fact there was nothing wrong at all!

What my daughter loved was Baby Einstein videos. You may find that he learns better by video than by books... each person is different. They have videos for colors and shapes, all kinds of stuff and they are really great. My daughter went to preschool knowing all her colors and shapes ahead of time because of Baby Einstein - can't say enough good things about the series. I think Wal*Mart has them now and they are relatively inexpensive, or you can get them at Amazon.

Hi there, only do one color at a time. At his age you might want to try only one color per week or maybe for 3 or 4 days. If the color you are working on happens to be red, then wear something red those days, talk only about the color red......point out things are red. Don't mention any other colors....let him get that one down before you move on. Then after a couple other colors, go back to the first one again, Red, and make sure he is catching on. If you try to show him too many at one time it will only confuse him. So one at a time....good luck

all kids learn different things on their own time and differently. my daughter was great at colors at 8 months (we'd ask her to grab different colors and she almost always got it right), then when she was speaking well she said them right. she however at almost five hates to write and is very much behind on that. he'll understand colors before you know it. just give him time and keep working with him. perhaps with some games about colors, and keeping up with the books will help him along.

18 months is really early to learn colors. I know some kids have learned by then but don't worry if he doesn't. The best thing at that age is not necessarily books but real life. Look at the yellow banana, the green Christmas tree etc..

(Mom to 3 kids - 19, 14 and 6)

My daughter isnow 28 months, but I was worried about this too when she was about 18 months. I was thinking maybe she was color blind because she seemed like she was picking up everything else so easy. I asked her pediatrician who said that between 2-3 years old children should start to know their colors. Then all of a sudden around 24 months it just clicked for her. I recommend always attching a color to what ever you're looking at, ie: "look at the black doggie!" "do you want a yellow banana?". But don't worry. He'll get it.

I am not sure there is anything to worry about. I think even at my son's 3 year well check they wanted to know if he could identify 3 colors (which seemed suprising) but over the next year and a half I am sure you're son will come leaps and bounds in so many things. Just keep reading, playing with color things and make sure you always tell him the color as part of the play.

L.

hi. well what i did with my son who is now four, was used everyday opportunities for learning colors...with his clothing, food, shoes, outdoors. when you get him dressed let him know what color shirt you're putting on him, same with his pants. and when he's eating address the obvious colors, vegtables are really good for this. outdoors, do the same with signs, stop lights, cars. i'm sure you get the idea. but this helps a great deal, because they feel more interactive with it. using books and flashcards is more like work for them. they feel pressured to remember things. it's more fun when you use everyday things...and sure enough he will learn them.

Try doing a color a day. Monday is red. Make everything red. juice, clothes, snacks, toys. then go around the house and outside finding things that are red. Tuesday do green. and so on. My little girl was really into the Baby Einstein videos. They worked very well for her.

from: S. P
I'm a preschool teacher and mother of 5. 18 months is a little young for a child to differientiate colors and know their names. He can probably tell them apart, but adding the name would be hard to remember. Keep pointing out objects in the house and outside and name the color with them. Remember, color isn't everything, so say "look at the big green leaf, or look at that small yellow flower. Use full sentences not just "green, red" etc. If you push, he will loose interest, so just let the teaching come naturally in everyday events.