Mami & Me: When to start teaching colors to toddlers

When toddlers start identifying colors at the age of two, that's a big milestone for their cognitive development. They can, however, name different colors by the age of three. Keeping that in mind, you may introduce colors to your children whenever you feel they are ready, since each child's ability to learn and perceive is different.

My son, Levi, who is two years old, can identify up to nine colors; blue, red, yellow, pink, black, purple, brown, yellow and orange. While pointing to his colorful dinosaurs, he can also name each color. As a mom, it’s fascinating for me to see him do this. Not only can you teach your toddlers with their own toys but you can also teach colors by pointing out various objects in their environment, indoors or outdoors.

As a first-time mom, I cannot emphasize this enough: teaching colors to toddlers might take time and patience. Here are some tips to remember while introducing colors to our fast-learning children.

• Every child is different so understanding their capabilities is really important. Try to design activities based on your child’s needs.

• Introducing one or two colors at a time might be best. You can continue to teach them the same colors until they can remember them. Repetition goes a long way.

• Don’t rush them into learning colors. Let your toddler observe and explore. As soon as a child begins to show curiosity, you will be able to tell.

• Exposing toddlers to colorful objects or prints is very helpful; it will let them retain the concept of colors.

One thing I did notice with my toddler is that he was confusing the colors red and orange together. So, what I would suggest is to first teach them contrast colors. For example, red and yellow or green. The more you emphasize colors of the same family, the more toddlers might get confused. Also, in the process of teaching color to my toddler, I learned that coloring is a sensory fun activity that stimulates senses like touch, balance, movement and sight. 

Now that we live in a generation where technology is heavily used, we can use it to our advantage and teach our children with it. According to the Pew Research Center, 74% of parents with a child age two or younger say their child uses or interacts with a television. Once again, every parent has their own teaching and parenting styles. If you do decide to use technology as a tool, first do some research and look for age-appropriate videos on YouTube or online applications that have color games or activities that toddlers can manage. Let your toddler learn and have some fun at the same time and, of course, always with parental supervision.

​​If there is anything I can help young mothers and fathers with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at amairani@latinomedia.org. Follow my Mami & Me column here.