Colour blindness in toddlers

[Belle]

Anyone know much about this? I'm increasingly convinced my son has red/green colour blindness - though he's only 2 so aware I may sound like an overly paranoid/anxious mum. It's just that he makes a point of saying green things are red and sometimes vice versa, and corrects me when i say 'no, green'. He's still getting to grips with colours but it's a consistent 'mistake', and just recently I heard red/green colour blindness more common in boys than girls. Anyone have any advice/experience?

[Curmudgeon]

it is extremely normal for young children to mix up their colours

they say the words randomly rather than "oh what a lovely green"

I wouldn't be concerned at this stage

[Helen GV]

Is there any history of this in your family? I think that women can carry the gene but don't actually get affected by it, so if any of the males in your family have had it then it is possible. Don't know much more than that, sorry! Hope someone else can shed some light, otherwise your gp I guess..

[Curmudgeon]

no point taking a 2 year old to a GP about this IMO because they are not clear communicators give it a couple of years and then reassess

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Belle,

My hubby is colour blind....

Firt of all, I really wouldn't worry at the moment. All children get an eye test as standard in (as I recall) reception, so between age 4 and 5 more or less. You will get a letter/permission slip sent home in advance of the test, and if you are still worried at that point you can put a note to that effect to ensure they test thoroughly for it.

I believe the gentics work like this.....

My husband is colour blind, there is no history of it in my family.

Our children will not be colour blind (boys or girls), but our daughters will carry the gene.

Their sons are likely to be colour blind.

Their daughters will only be colour blind if they have a child with a man who is also a carrier of the gene - this is why it is not common for girls to be colour blind.

Interestingly my husband's sister is a carrier and has married a colour blind man...but they only had sons!

The bit I'm hazy on is whether it we could have had a colour blind son, but I'm pretty sure the gene can only pass through girls. If I am right you would have to have colour blindness in your side of the family for your son to have it.

It is fascinating isn't it, I love stuff like this.

It is hilariouis when my hubby shops for clothes without me, he has to go up to an assistant and say "Does this tie go with this shirt" and they sometimes look at him like he is crazy until he explains why - because the match is so bad!!

Also, sometimes when I get dressed up for a night out he will say "that's a lovely dress, what colour is it?" which kind of takes the edge of the compliment.

Oh, and some shades of lipstick look blue to him rather than red/pink which is NOT a good look on a girl!!

Molly

[pebbles]

Sorry, i can't help you Belle but I did just need to respond to Molly - hysterical that your husband thinks you're wearing blue lipstick!!! - i guess you never needed to bother with plying on the makeup when you first met as it would only have deterred him :)

[The Nappy Lady]

LOL, well luckily the shades I tend to wear are OK, but I once tried a new shade and he said "you look like you're dead..." then explained why...suffice to say I didn't wear that lipstick again!

[buggie]

Think colour blindness is similar to haemaophilia - carried on the 'x' chromosome, as girls have two x chromosomes (one from each parent) both parents would need to carry the dodgy x chromosome and pass that one on to affect a girl - chances are hugely unlikely. Boys get hit by it as they have an x and y chromosome so any dodgy bits on the x can't be corrected by the y.

Hope this makes sense - resisting the urge to do a table!!

[trinity]

Buggie is right about how colour blindness is inherited.

I am the daughter of a colour blind man and so am definitly a carrier as I received his defective x chromosome. However I have produced 2 non-colour blind boys as they must have inherited the 'good' x chromosome from me. I can't tell whether my daughters are carriers or not as they may have inherited the defective or good chromosome.

None of my children were tested in school - perhaps that is a state/private difference.

They were all tested by the optician at their first eye test at the age of 5.

It is worth checking in a few years time as it can cause problems at school.

[buggie]

...ok, couldn't resist doing the genotype!!

X = regular chromosome

x = chromosome with colour blindness:

X Y

X XX XY

x Xx xY

Sooo, 50% chance your daughters are carriers of the colour blindness gene, and your son's had a 50% chance of being colour blind.

[The Nappy Lady]

My girls are in state school & got the eye test. Could it be a 'by borough' thing? We are in Southwark.

My girls will def. be carriers with the x inherited from their Dad.

[Keef]

I have some eperience with the testing:), and at 2 years old, there couldn't really be a diognosis, as far as I'm aware.

Try not to worry too much, unless he's going to be a pilot, or an elctrician, it shouln't be a problem.

[Belle]

Ah, thanks all. Hope I didn't come across too neurotic, and do realise he's really young - and I'm not bothered about when he learns colours etc at all. Really helpful explanations and info from all. I think what I was worrying about was less it being a problem per se, and more situations eg nursery/school where teachers might think he's just getting it wrong and push it a bit (like I've done thinking he was just getting mixed up). When he corrected me re green/red, I realised there could be many situations like that where he's going to think 'shut up stupid lady, they're both the same'. I might mention it at nursery just so they can be aware. If I notice it more in the years ahead, I'll def get a test arranged when he goes to school.

Molly - thanks for the comedy stories!

edited to add, re the most pertinent detail (it's been a long day, brain not working properly) - I don't know re family history. Pretty sure my dad wasn't (he was an artist, sure it would have come up?) and am sure my mum would have said...but if I understand the genetics right it could have come down e.g from my mum's dad? Buggie I remember those workings from Higher biology but that was a long time ago, have forgotten how they work...

[ontheedge]

but surely colour is what you perceive it as who can ever know what anyone else sees

[Curmudgeon]

NappyLady there's a 50% chance your girls will be carriers of the gene not a 100% chance

Hope that is helpful

[Belle]

ontheedge Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> but surely colour is what you perceive it as who

> can ever know what anyone else sees

I think it's more the lack of ability to distinguish, when it happens, which can be a problem. So I guess with traffic lights for e.g., you'd have to learn the formation/position over colour. Green and red in particular are colours which are used for loads of things: warnings, appliances etc.

[BB100]

If your child can recognise his numbers then an optician should be able to tell you if he is colour blind. They have specially designed books to test for it which requires the child to identify numbers in different colours. If they can't see the number then they are blind to that colour. Just book an appointment with the optician.

[wave]

haven't had a chance to read all the posts but i thought i'd share my experience.

i have twin girls.

i noticed the same thing in one of them that she seemed to be mixing up those two colours and of course it concerned me. i would try to ask her particularly about those two colours without making a big thing of it.

in some ways it seemed like a blip as she now has no trouble identifying the difference - 5 months on.

they are now 3.5 years

all the best

[Belle]

That's god to know, thanks Wave. Will try doing that, without making a thing of it.

[Gubodge]

I'd back up Wave's experience. I only have daughters, but my dad has red/green colour blindness, as does my husband, so it would be possible for my girls to have it too (Both dad and MrG see red and green as a murky brown). When my eldest was around two I was convinced that she had inherited it as she seemed to have a particular problem with those colours but she now has absolutely no problems at all. I wonder if there is something about the red/green wavelengths that the eye takes longer to adapt to, and that in some cases it never quite gets there.

But even if your son does turn out to be colour blind, it shouldn't cause him any problems. The only real down side is that it means he'll never be able to have a career as a pilot. Or an interior designer.

[BB100]

or the military, or the police force, or in electronics

[trinity]

Or a train driver

[new mother]

Met quite a senior ex army officer who was cb. I was quite surprised as I would have thought it dangerous, not that I can point to anything specifically, but, in a combat situation, where people's lives are at risk, shouldn't the commanding officer have a totally accurate picture of what is going on? Maybe they have tightened up since he left...

[Mrs TP]

My youngest (2yrs & 5mths) has recently got the hang of colours and has grasped many of the basics but still consistently confuses green and orange. I don't think she is colour blind just stubborn about being corrected.

[new mother]

As above it would be very unusual, though possible, in girls.