Color blindness?

[RunnerDuck]

I know it's technically color deficiency ...

Anyway my dad is color blind and so is my oldest son. I was really upset when I first found out - I mean maybe more upset than I should have been, I don't know. if you look at things on line "How the world looks to a color blind person" it is really kind of ugly. But he likes colors, he likes bright things, he must get some joy out of life, I had to just accept whatever he sees, he is happy with it.

But to think he sees a red fire truck as green, I just can't wrap my head around that.

And I am not sure he DOES... I asked my dad if you see a fire truck parked in the woods does it look the same as the trees? And he said no, it's red, and the trees are green. But the pictures on line say... !!!

Anyway we went to the fire works last night and it never occurred to me that they might not look right to my son. My dad later mentioned my niece was telling him what color that were because they were all the same to him. Seriously??? My son doesn't like to talk about it so I haven't asked how they looked to him.

But what I am wondering is - does anyone else have colorblindness in your family?? Does it get less severe with generations, or can it just be less severe in some people??? I don't think my son is as bad as my dad.

And if you have more than one boy, do both/all have it???

I wonder if my newest son will be or not. I kind of want my oldest to have an ally in this - and then at the same time I don't want him to be.

[infocrazy]

DH is color blind but as far as I can tell none of the kids are. I think his late father was color blind.

But FWIW, DH doesn't really see red as green or even black/white. He has trouble telling shades of colors. For example, he can tell the difference between primary red/yellow/blue/green etc... but if you have florescent shades of yellow and green they look the same to him. Just like chocolate brown and hunter green look the same.

They are probably many varying degrees of color blindness. That is why although I don't THINK the kids are yet, they are sort of still in the primary world...in terms of identifying colors. I'll have to find an online test and give it to the boys.

Coincidentally, we went to a fireworks show and DH had a game of who could say the colors first so I know they are different for him...but I'll have to ask him how much.

[Tondi G]

My DH is color blind and so far both of my boys are not, as far as I know. my Dh says he sees more like blues and greens and greys all look the same. I always think about it and it is kind of crazy to me. I never really thought about fireworks but that would be interesting ... I'll have to ask my DH if they all look the same to him or not. There are many times that DH asks me "hey are these shorts blue or grey?" or "does this shirt go ok with these pants", cause he can't really see for himself (most of the time he's ok but not always).He always looks at me like I have lost it when I am comparing things like paint swatches and ask him for his opinion. LOL

[geochick]

My dh and his 3 brothers are all color blind, but my dh got it the worst. They all have trouble with shades of red/green/brown/orange. I don't think my dh could pass it to my son (dh gave my son the Y, and this is on the X...I think my dd is a carrier. She has the X from dh and the X from me. Half of her sons should be colorblind, I think (correct me if I'm wrong bio-people). What's interesting is that my mother in law gave that X to all of her 4 sons. Only half should have gotten that X. I don't think the intensity diminishes with generations, but some people get it worse than others.

We live in the mountains, and we were driving along the freeway this weekend. I noticed some bright red poppies growing in a huge clump along the side of the road. It was STUNNING (red against green)! I pointed it out to my dh because I was stunned by the beauty of the colors. He couldn't see it. I felt bad for him! He said because he's never seen anything like that (except maybe yellow against blue), it doesn't make him feel bad or that he's missing out. If he knew what he was missing, it would be a different story.

[RunnerDuck]

Colorblindness will pass through the mom, so if your husbands are color blind but your dad is not it's not likely your kids will be. But dad's can pass it to their daughters - the gene, not the condition... So my brother is not colorblind and I don't think there's any chance his kids will have or carry it...

[pinay]

DH is color blind, as are his brother and his dad so I always thought it was passed down from dads to their sons. DD has no indication of being color blind (I think it's actually quite rare in girls). According to DH his version of color blindness is similar to what other posters have already described- he has trouble differentiating between shades of a color, not so much between different colors. He does double check with me on occasion to make sure an outfit matches appropriately but it usually isn't too big of a deal for him.

[geochick]

Colorblindness will pass through the mom, so if your husbands are color blind but your dad is not it's not likely your kids will be. But dad's can pass it to their daughters - the gene, not the condition... So my brother is not colorblind and I don't think there's any chance his kids will have or carry it...

Yeah, that's how I understand it. Color blind dads pass the gene to their daughters who carry it (they aren't color blind). The dds pass it to their offspring. Half the dds sons will get it. Half the dds daughters will carry it.

[geochick]

He does double check with me on occasion to make sure an outfit matches appropriately but it usually isn't too big of a deal for him.

I have to put out suit, shirt, and tie combinations each morning for my dh. If I don't, it's really funny.

[niccig]

My Dad is colorblind. That makes me a carrier, and we thought DS was, as it took him a long time to learn his colors.

It's not all negatives. My Dad was a forward scout in the army - he excelled at this as he could see things that other's couldn't because of how the colours stood out to him. He tells stories of how his commanding officer would question him, and my Dad would say "can't you see x - it's right there" - and others couldn't see it because of the camouflage, but the camoflage didn't blend in for my father. He says it was like a neon sign to him. I'm sure there are other incidences of where it's a benefit.

He's learned strategies to cope. He does a lot of electrical wiring of cars - DIY mechanic - and he asks someone to tell him the colour, he labels the wires and then he doesn't need anymore help.

[ahisma]

I have to put out suit, shirt, and tie combinations each morning for my dh. If I don't, it's really funny.

Ditto. My DH is colorblind as well, my DD (12 yo) or I have to check him in the morning. BUT, he was a bachelor until he was 34 yo and survived just fine...the kids in his classes just got a kick out of it.

I'm pretty sure DS2 is colorblind too. It's a bummer, but not a big deal.

[AngelaS]

My dad is colorblind and we all had to help dress him too. He is mostly red/green colorblind. He struggles with stop lights both in knowing that red is always on the top or left and that he has to get close to them to tell which one is actually lit.

He also can see camoflage. That's crazy that a PP mentioned it too. He says when he's out hunting he can easily see other hunters and it's not because of the orange. LOL

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Dh is severely colorblind. Often confuses red, green and brown. Dh's brother is colorblind as well, but not as badly as dh. Mil's father (dh's grandfather) was colorblind also.

I used to feel sorry for my dh too. But I guess if you never know any different then it's no big deal.

Colorblindness does not run in my family at all, so none of my kids will be colorblind. Though if dd has any sons they have a good chance of being colorblind.

[tarahsolazy]

My son is colorblind, mostly red-green, but he has trouble with purples as well. It doesn't seem like a big deal at this point.

[mrshalco]

My father, brother, and DS#1 are all color blind. We don't know about DS#2. I have to admit - I was bummed about it. I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of life but it bummed me out. We had DS#1 tested at 4 at his well visit. I mentioned it in passing at the appointment and my pedi was curious so he got out the "dot book". DS#1 didn't know all his numbers by sight yet so we weren't sure how it was going to go but we quickly got our answer. The Dr asked him what number he saw and he put his nose to the book and said "what number? I don't see a number!" We confirmed it at his 5 year appointment.

DS#1 is now 7. He's adapted pretty well to it. I make sure to mention it to his teachers every year and find that he has no problem asking friends and staff if a certain crayon/marker/etc is a certain color. Now that he's reading - he doesn't even really need help unless it's not labeled.

Clothes are a constant battle in our house!! LOL He likes to have his own style and becomes pretty frustrated when I tell him something doesn't match. Sometimes I just let him wear what he wants and find that even though he doesn't match.....he's got the personality to get away with it!!

When I told my brother about the dx - he said "don't make him do that dot test. I had to do that every time I got my eyes checked and I failed it every time! I hated it!! Let him put colors in order by shade - then he won't feel bad!"

OP - hopefully your DS will open up about what he can and cannot see. I find it fascinating now and we talk about it in spurts so not to overwhelm DS#1 with being "wrong".

[brittone2]

BIL is. My older two kids are not. Too early to tell with DS2.

BIL and I were in school together and I still remember him asking me what colored pencil he was holding when coloring maps in social studies. And then he'd get in trouble from our grouchy old teacher for talking during class ;)