Can a Toddler Be Color Blind?

It is nearly impossible for a girl to be color blind. It is carried by the X chromosome and I believe it has to be on both XX to show up in a person. For whatever reason it took my daughter longer to learn colors, handwriting, reading, shapes, and now money, lol. My daughter is a really creative and artistic little person, think she is just wired a little different. For a long time she wrote in a perfect mirror image. Now, she doesn't and she has learned all of the above things, it just doesn't come as quickly to some.

Does she know her shapes? Play a game with her.

http://colorvisiontesting.com/online%20test.htm

Go to the website and ask her to find the shapes. If she can see them and points them out, she's not colorblind. If she has trouble, take her in to be seen.

By 3 they can diagnose color-blindness. However it's EXTREMELY rare in females. Only something like 0.05% of the worl's females are colorblind.

It's predominantly genetic- so are any relatives colorblind?

You can also "become" colorblind due to brain injury- I just looked at a site that indicated shaken baby syndrome might cause color-blindness.

If she's 4 she's due for a visit to the eye Dr anyway, so they should be able to give you more of an idea.

When you say "trouble with her colors".... What kind of trouble? Like *sometimes* she can see them, but not always? That might be stubbornness....lol.

Colorblindness is genetic - it's a recessive trait, more common in males, and transmitted through the mother's genes. My son is colorblind, as was my dad. So if she's colorblind, it's been since birth, and there's nothing you can do about it. Same thing for the uncle - he's not "currently colorblind" unless he's had some new and unusual eye problem that has interfered with an ability he had before. There are many kinds of colorblindness - some people can see certain colors and not others. For example, my son is red-green colorblind but sees other colors.

There are simple tests for this and it's useful to know but there's nothing you can do about it. Kids function fine and learn to adapt. It's helpful for the teachers to know. My son had to ask his teachers not to use both red and green markers on the white board - they could use one or the other, and they could use blue and black, but red/green together "danced" around the board for him. They were happy to accommodate, by the way.

However, your child also has trouble with shapes. She's also very young. Kids get these things confused a lot - doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them especially if they are not delayed in other areas. Don't make a special trip in to the doctor, but give them a call before her next check-up and tell them you'd like them to have the pictures available for her to look at to see what she can see.

Color blindness is a dominant trait in males and a recessive trait in females. Meaning it is incredibly rare in females. Also, I believe it is carried on the 'x' chromosome, which means it would have to be from your side of the family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness

Did she used to know all her colors and is suddenly getting them wrong? My boys used to do that just to be silly. My husband is color blind, and my MIL was very worried about my 4 year old. I asked her why, and she said she asked him what color an Easter basket was. It was green, but he said pink. He was teasing her. But since her son is color blind, she worries.

If is has always had trouble with her colors, maybe she just doesn't know them yet. Some kids master them later than others. Probably nothing to worry about. Maybe checked out a couple of fun books about colors and include them in the books you read together. I bet she catches on soon.

It's something you're born with, not something that develops over time. So yes, a toddler can be color blind. I'm sure the doctors have a way of checking.

Some preschoolers get their shapes & colors mixed up.
My son is colorblind.
(It doesn't mean they can't see any colors!)
His nursery school teachers noticed he would "read" the crayon labels to get the "right" color for activities.
Does she know and recognize two dogit numbers? If so, google "color blind test" and you'll be able to tell.
I'm colorblind, as was my father.

Updated

Some preschoolers get their shapes & colors mixed up.
My son is colorblind.
(It doesn't mean they can't see any colors!)
His nursery school teachers noticed he would "read" the crayon labels to get the "right" color for activities.
Does she know and recognize two dogit numbers? If so, google "color blind test" and you'll be able to tell.
I'm colorblind, as was my father.

At 4 years old, she is no longer a toddler - she is a preschooler.

They can still get colors mixed up at this age, but the most common form of color-blindness is red-green color blindness, which makes it difficult to distinguish red and green from each other. It is also much much more common in males than in females.

You can always ask your pediatrician.

My son was very advanced for his age as far as the pre-school curriculum went, yet he took a long time to learn his colours. His teacher said that it was not uncommon because colours can be subjective. I mean, I know lots of adults who have trouble differentiating between turquoise, blue and green. I'm not saying she couldn't be colour blind, just that it is not uncommon to not know colours at the age of four.

If it's in your family, it's possible.

Here is a link to a youtube video that has several color blind test slides to check it out on your own. You can google for test for kids.

Contact your pedi to ask for testing on it. I think it's pretty basic. There are different types, so you need to know which one.

People who are colorblind are colorblind from birth. Having said that, girls are much less likely to be color blind than boys. Most common form of color blindness is red green, full spectrum color blindness is very rare.

My eldest had trouble with colors until she was around that age. My MIL bought the Baby Einstein - Van Gogh video and it really helped her distinguish her colors.

of course. why would it not be possible?
:/
khairete
S.

It's a simple test. You can find examples online if you search "color blind test".

Did you also know that alot of children can not see in 3-D. I just found that out. Now I know why my grandson wasn't impressed with the 3-D movies.

My oldest son's father is red-green cb so when he didn't know colors at age 4 I had his pediatrician test him and he was fine. I used to line up several items of different colors (matchbox cars) and tell him to "show me the green car" or ask "which one is red?" and he would just pick something totally random. He eventually learned his colors, it just wasn't something that he learned when he was very young.

I would say no if you didn't have colorblindness in your family. If you haven't taken her to the eye doctor, you should consider doing that.

As far as shapes are concerned, sometimes that takes a long time. My son confused a rectangle and a square forever, it seems LOL! Playing games with shapes and colors will be helpful to her. Don't worry if it takes a while.

If you feel that you aren't getting anywhere with her, consider having a speech and language pathologist evaluate her language skills. (Speech therapists don't just work with speech problems...)

Does your preschooler's teacher indicate any concern over colors? How about your preschooler's pediatrician? Having trouble with colors and shapes at 4 years old is common. She may not be having as much trouble as you think she is, either.

It's not impossible for her to be color blind, but it's unlikely even with an uncle that is color blind. You can take her to have her eyes examined by an ophthalmologist, which she should have done starting at 3 or 4 years old anyway.

Toddlers can be color blind too. But you don't have a toddler any more. ;-)