My son Takeh is showing interest in colors now. Maybe it’s because he gets to draw more now that he’s in daycare, but he talks about different colors than just blue, which he used to be interested in.Besides blue, he loves red and constantly yells “Komachi!”. This is because the Akita Shinkansen train named Komachi is painted red.
As he becomes more familiar with colors, he notices new things. Comparing the color of their cups to the pumpkins used for Halloween decorations, they notice that they are both orange. They shout, “Look, they’re the same color!” They shout, “And tangerines too!” One of them also sees that the orange color matches that of oranges, and says, “Even oranges are the same color!”
It’s really amazing to be young because they get excited every time they find something that has the same color.
However, I am unsure how to answer something else. While bathing with him, he pointed at my skin and asked, “What color is this?” It made me feel uneasy. While bathing with him, he pointed at my skin and asked, “What color is this?” He repeated this question twice. Once upon a time, I would have quickly replied “skin color” to his query. However, in the 21st century, using the term “skin tone” is now deemed inappropriate due to its potential to devalue human diversity. Though I was aware, I didn’t know the right words to answer him.
Though I was aware, I didn’t know the right words to answer him. Though I was aware, I didn’t know the right words to answer him. Therefore, I ended up saying, “Uh… brown.”
I thought of using “beige”, but I didn’t want to introduce a new color when he’s still learning.
He’s getting better at telling colors apart. But it’s hard to know how much to explain. These are all things we’re figuring out while he’s in this learning stage. Should we consider “red” and “pink” as separate colors or the same? Calling “yellow-green” just “green” might be simpler, but what’s the best approach?
(2023.10.11)
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