Help with Almost 3 Year Old and Learning Colors

Hi L., Just wanted to say don't give up, I had this exact same problem with my stepson, it drove me crazy, and he did not completely get it until after he was 4, I had the color charts and everything going too, I know it is frustrating, he is 10 now and he is fine, I would suggest that you don't push it so hard, she will get it, if she is catching on to everything else then she will probably be fine, she is still really young. Hope this helps...

The only thought that I had was that she might be color blind. I know you said that she can match colors but you could still do that being color blind. Even if everything looks grey, it would be different shades of grey that she is matching (blue might be dark grey, yellow might be light). She might not be, but I just had that thought.

I had a similer problem with my oldest son. The solution was actually really easy. I bought a box of the fat magic markers, the basic colors and i layed them all out on the floor. Everyday Trent and i would go through the colors. I would ask him to hand me the Blue, Red, Yellow etc. one at a time and then when we went through all the colors i would hand them back to him as he asked me for them, one at a time. after just a week or so he had it down pat. My suggestion is to stick with the crayola 8 pack. It was the basic colors so he didnt get confused. The only problem he had was the red and orange he would mix up sometimes but after a little more practice he got it right. After a few weeks i could ask him about other things that were the same color as the markers. (ie, what color is that car, cup, etc.) It worked like a dream! GOOD LUCK!!

Have you had her eyes checked. Just because she is matching the colors up doesn't really rule out colorblindness. From what I understand colorblind people see the colors as basically shades of grey. I could be mistaken about that but it is still worth a call to the doctor. If everything checks out alright, try using painting as a way to work on colors. Pick a different color each time and paint things that are that color. (Finger paint or with a brush). Do the same with playdough. Then start using more than one color. Like an apple tree with a brown trunk, green leaves and red apples. Also, read books about colors. Additionally, teach her about mixing colors (red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, blue and red make purple, check out what happens when you mix them all). Basically make the colors fun without really making it seem like you are teaching her. Let her discover and identify on her own.

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Good luck.

Have her tested for colorblindness. My ex-husband was colorblind and learned his colors by the names on the crayons; he found out he was colorblind when he went for military physical. That is also when my father found out he was colorblind. they can sometimes match colors; and there seems to be degrees and types of colorblindness. If she isn't colorblind, constantly talking in colors may help her. "I am putting on your blue shoes; look at the yellow duck; mommy is wearing her green sweater..."

Is there a possibility she is color-blind? I would talk to the pediatrician.

I wouldn't worry about it yet. I went to buy some educational DVDs for my son & the Letters video said 1-3 years, the shapes was 6months - something, but the color video said 3 - 5 years. I would have thought colors would come before letters, but apparently not. So technically she's not even expected to be able to grasp her colors until at least 3. You have time.

She may stil be color blind, just able to match up cause of repeditiveness? I would talk to your doctor or call an optomitrist. Then again, all kids learn differently.

Have you had her eyes checked? Can she see the colors? Just a thought. My son had very bad vision and I didn't realize it until he was 4 yrs old.

Have you discussed this with your pediatrician? I would. There may be something to look into. Good luck!

Since she's up to par on other areas, I'm wondering if you've considered that she might be color blind..?

Hi L.,
I think your daughter might be color deficient, like my brother. This is a form of colorblindness, but the person can see some colors but not others. My brother went many years without anyone recognizing his vision problem because he seemed to be able to name colors and match things up correctly. (In reality, he was making educated guesses and matching up similar hues.) Talk to your pediatrician or eye doctor ( Dr. Cheng, the pediatric eye doctor we see, has office hours in the South Hills and the North Hills (Wexford). If a vision problem is ruled out, I wouldn't worry much if she is doing well with everything else. If you are like us and many other parents, and she's your first and/or only child, we all stress out ourselves and our children over milestones that they will reach in their own time. Best wishes and let us know how things are going with you all.

I agree with Lorraine..maybe she's just not into it yet. On the other hand, at a preK screening, we were told that our son (5) may be colorblind and I took him to a pediatric opthamologist to follow up and guess what? He failed every color test! 20/20 vision but color deficient. The way he has coped with learning his colors over the years is that he READS the name of the colors and he has been doing this since he was 3. His nursery school teachers told me they noticed he was reading the color names on the crayons and we had seen him doing this as well.
Color deficiency (if she is) is not a huge deal. They still see colors but they are muted so the different shades can throw them. I would get her flash cards where she can see the word name of the color as well as the color. Also, with my son, the more you drill him on certain topics, the less he wants to do it. maybe back off a little on the everyday situations of asking for an answer. Just do flash cards with her from time to time.
They have colorblindness test patterns for little ones with pictures instead of numbers and you can probably find O. i the internet--I'm curious as to whether that's it or not. Color deficiency is more common in boys and follows the maternal grandfather's tendencies, but my father was color blind and so am I! (I have trouble with grays and greens)
Good luck!

both my kids learned their colors by building blocks. They love mega blocks and they come in all kinds of colors. We would just say ....look abbe mommy has a green block or we are going to build a red castle today...can you find all the red blocks for me? With my oldest daughter we associated different colors to different people. Mommy has a black truck, daddy has a red car, grandmas car is white and papas truck is blue. She was very excited because she would find the color and say thats blue just like papas truck! It worked for us good luck!

It is still possible that she is color blind if she can match up color. They would appear to be the same to her anyway. With color blindness you can see some color or colors. It like matching up shades of grey. A dark grey could be "navy" for examply, so she would just have to match up the same shade of grey with itself.

Have you tried sign language?? Colors are the first things I sign with my babes and they pick it up immediately!! see if your baby girl is more apt to use her hands for the signs of the colors rather than the actual words... they'll come when they come.
I'm sure you can find a good easy book at barnes and noble that covers all the color signs.
best,
A.

Honestly, she just might like saying those words. She'll get it. I wouldn't push it too much.

But...what about games like Candyland? Those would be fun for her & she'd be less inclined to think she has to perform.

We started my oldest playing Uno somewhere around 3. She didn't have to match numbers, just colors. She loved it & it is still a fave in our house. Our little one who'll be 3 in Oct is starting to play too. We get her to match the colors & she does well. Try something like that & don't worry too much. She'll be fine, just maybe not a graphic or interior designer when she grows up.

Hi there,
Your daughter is not even 3 yet, so it's completely normal for her to be confused on colors! She's learning. My daughter will be 3 in September and she still confuses pink and blue, as well as other colors! I wouldn't worry about it. Relax!
-L.

Dear L.,

When my brother went to first grade back in 1950, he would color everything with his black crayon. Even when the teacher would take the time to hand him the correct color to use, he'd change to the black crayon. The teacher tried to tell my parents that he had a learning disability and that he was slow. The teacher also thought he might be depressed because he used black crayon for everything.

As it turned out, my brother was extremely intelligent. He just liked the black crayon. There was no changing his mind, because he was a very stubborn, independent person. He thought his teacher was funny, and he enjoyed getting her upset. He went on in life to be an engineer. He even designed the hydraulics for the Jaws ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Think your daughter might be having some fun with you? Try saying something like this with a smile on your face: "Are you teasing me?" Try it each time she tells you the wrong color. It almost sounds like she just likes purple and green,and wants to get a reaction when she uses them all the time. I'd play along and see if she tells you the correct color if you use the wrong color sometimes.

Kids develop a sense of humor very early. May be that this is what your daughter is doing with you. Wouldn't that be neat!

Sincerely, M.

Don't discount color blindness - she may be able to match shades and has been getting them right... It can't hurt to take her to the eye dr for a check up :) better to do it now, then wait in case it progresses or something.

Also, she may just not be getting them. My son is not a big talker, where my niece is 5 months younger than him and is a little chatter box... they do it in their own time. Let it rest for a while and she may surprise you.

Good luck,

Color is a much more difficult concept than it would seem - the grass is green, the shirt is green - they are the same...but a shirt and the grass aren't the same....my oldest (who is ridiculously brilliant and had "processing skills" well ahead of his age had a horrible time understanding the concept of color - in hindsight, in large part it was because he was so literal...shirt/grass - not the same, what are you saying you crazy lady? ;)

When it clicks, it will, more than likely click completely. There are different levels of development and processing skills - I'm not an educator so I can't tell you exactly what - but I have a disabled 5 y/o and we talk alot about understanding concepts at the numerous meetings with his teachers and professionals. Based strictly on my opinion as a mom of 3 ranging from 5-12, it certainly doesn't seem like your daughter is behind in her skills - INCLUDING color! If she knows her letters and numbers, she is ahead of the curve (I've spent a lot of time in my 1st grader's class over the last 2 years). It will come - and again, this seems to be something that comes completely when it does - as opposed to being able to recognize all blue objects but not red ones, if that makes sense? Once she gets it, you'll turn around and say, "remember when she..." :)

Best of luck!

I would stop quizzing her for awhile and when you are talking to her about things mention their color while pointing, if you do this all the time, she will quickly pick it up without feeling "tested". This way she will be less frustrated... then after awhile I would begin to ask her, "what color is the cup?" or "is the ball blue or red" once she starts to get them right the frustration will subside and you could return to the "testing working with her" way of teaching her. Good luck, she will get it.

Don't fret about it. It will come. As you said she isn't even three year old yet. She is most likely learning so many things at this point - talking, eye-hand coordination, rules for behaving, rules for games, how to push mommy and daddy's buttons (LOL) - that mastery of each of them shouldn't be expected right now. Don't be forceful about your approach to teaching her about colors. Play simple color games (Candyland Castle or Candyland), do art activities (crayons, paints, dough, etc). Talk about the colors you see - Did you see that blue bird? I love the red roses in the garden! I am going to color the house purple. Consider that she may be more interested in other activities right now or she may feel overwhelmed if you have been "quizzing" her a lot lately. Good luck!

A clever mom in my son's gymnastics class uses Sesame Street characters to teach her son colors. Instead of yellow she calls it Big Bird. Instead of blue she refers to it as Cookie Monster. Since your daughter is 3 (this little boy is about 2) I might say yellow like Big Bird and orange like Ernie. I don't know if it will help the concept click but if you relate the colors to something she already knows (it wouldn't have to be Sesame Street, you could try your daughter's favorite show) it might help her. My older son learned yellow like a banana. Food would encorporate visual, auditory (hearing the words), and taste, she could touch it too. Best of luck!!

Have yoiu talked to your pediatrician yet. I thought my son wasn't where he should be in some areas so I talked to the doctor who reassured me that he shouldn't even really be doing this stuff just yet. At this age it is all about socializing and learning to be wtih kids. We try to rush our kids so much nowadays. I kept comparing him to my daughter who liked doing that sort of stuff but he did not. Once I got over myself and relaxed I saw that he was exactly where he was suppose to be. He is now in first grade and doing wonderfully. He loves school. i would speak to you doctor for some reassurance. it definitely helped me. I hope this helps you. L.

My little boy loved the Wiggles, and I know they helped him learn his colors. He wanted to know the name of the Wiggle that was blue, etc.

I would just keep working on it with her, but not do drills. It can be a lot of pressure for her and if you guys are getting frustrated, she is not going to want to learn. My daughter is very smart, like yours, but colors were not quite as easy for her as other things. Just talk about colors casually as they occur naturally. Example: Wow, that's a pretty purple flower. What color hair band do you want to wear today? When she picks one up, just tell her what color it is. Believe me, most likely one day she will just start to know her colors as if she knew them all along. Remember, there is no person where EVERYTHING comes to them like second nature. Also, maybe she just isn't that interested in the colors as other things. Relax. Just keep working with her. My daughter is now almost 5 and continues to be very smart. She was having trouble writing her letters and numbers. They practice in school and I would just give her a little writing to do at home. Well, now her writing is pretty good and gets better every day. So hang in there and.... smile!

Dear L.,
I really only have one question, have you had her tested through the Early Intervention? It is completely state-funded, you wouldn't have to pay for anything in PA. They'll run the gamut of tests to see if she's delayed in several areas. I had my son tested just after his 2nd b-day, b/c of speech issues. He is now five & will be going to Kindergarten this fall. He is very on-track to progress completely out of the program within a year or so. My only regret is that I wish I'd had him tested sooner. If nothing else, you'd know where she is in relation to her peers, and if there are delays, you can begin to get her on track quickly, so that the delays do not progress and put her further behind as a result of not treating sooner. I'll be praying for all four of you. (Happy pregnancy.)

There is an online test you can do for color deficiency and they have one for toddlesr. Both of my sons are color defiecient. Depending on the level kids see the colors dimmer and it usually is in a specific color area. We didn't know until they were tested in 1st grade because they found a way to compensate.

I've heard people have good luck using M&M's to help teach color.

Good Luck