Q: My 2.5 years old son has learnt numbers, alphabets and some rhymes. He knows 2 languages - Tamil(mother tongue) and English with vocabulary appropriate and slightly more for his age. He does not recognise colours though. When do children learn to identify colours? I have been trying to get him to understand the concept, but it has not worked. His father is also poor in colours.

A:It is good that you are interested in the details of your child's development and are monitoring it closely. However, you should guard against being too eager and too concerned. All children are not alike. Some are ahead in language, others in fine muscle coordination and still others in inter-personal emotions.The best method is to give love unconditionally, express it to the child now and then and provide the child interesting and safe surroundings. It is not necessary to push his knowledge of colours. Does he have names for the colours? Does he recognize colours at all? Most children learn to identify colour by age 4, some may do it earlier, of course. There are some genetic traits related to colour perception, especially in the confusing of red and green. If the father tends to do this, maybe your son has the same trait. But there is no need to do anything about it right now. Just play with the child naturally and let him enjoy his childhood and learning about the world around him.