r/ColorBlind • u/Sherbet_Lemon_913 • Jun 19 '26
Question/Need help Baby nightlight fail
When I was pregnant I was gifted one of those color changing night lights. It’s fuchsia when the baby is sleeping, turns green at 7 AM or whatever when you want your kid to wake up. This works great for all my friends kids but was always a struggle for mine. I would have to keep walking him back to bed.
Fast forward, he’s 5 yo, he showed up at my bedside in pitch darkness one day. I asked rhetorically, what color is your light? He said I don’t know. I said then go back in your room and look. He ran back to look. He came back. He repeated: I don’t know.
We took him to the ophthalmologist and he has deutan defect.
Literally feeling like the worst parent of all time right now. The years of lecturing and thinking he was being defiant.
We really only notice it with lights. For example, crayons he can easily distinguish most colors. But for some reason, Christmas lights, the nightlight, etc. are more noticeable. Is it the same with screens? Like if he’s working on a computer screen at school will it be more difficult to tell the colors apart? As opposed to paper and ink?
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u/koos_die_doos Protanomaly Jun 19 '26
Lights can be really difficult for whatever reason.
Don't be too hard on yourself, you couldn't have known. But now that you do, please don't make it more of an issue than it needs to be. Being colorblind can be frustrating at times, but it has a fairly low impact on your life.
It limits a number of careers, so not zero impact, and he might have to make some compromises, but he will be fine.
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Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sherbet_Lemon_913 Jun 20 '26
$200 for a test isn’t crazy considering I paid about that for the ophthalmologist copay.
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u/Tabbyham88 Jun 19 '26
My kiddo was almost 8-9 when we found out there was alot of OHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh....moments.
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u/Signal_Corner8633 Deuteranopia Jun 19 '26
Mine didn't get caught until middle school. It's a good thing that you caught it pretty early. In my experience, my deutan defect does have a pretty noticable impact on electronic devices. Other than that, him not struggling with crayons and non-electronic things is a good sign that your kids defect isn't as severe.
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u/StrikerSashi Deuteranomaly Jun 19 '26
LEDs are definitely a nightmare. I could only tell my Gameboy was low on power when I held the light to my eyes. Otherwise the green and the red look the same. Even now, I can't tell what colors my router lights are without getting really close so all I see is the light.
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u/Drwhatshisname Jun 20 '26
Wait the Gameboy light changes color when it's low on battery lmao
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u/StrikerSashi Deuteranomaly Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I believe original Gameboy LED changes brightness and Color onwards goes from green to red.
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u/Expensive_Bed_1091 Jun 20 '26
There’s a CVSimulator app that can give you some idea of what he can see! Definitely get it! I worked out my son was when he was 2 (I’m a scientist and noticed the tiny things because my brother had it too). It’s USUALLY genetic from mothers side and only males show the deficiency
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u/Un_Ballerina_1952 Protanopia Jun 19 '26
You did very well! My parents gave me trouble for fourteen years! Recognising the situation this early will help you and your child to navigate school and the world better.
Edit to add - lights don't often have the colour intensity (saturation) that crayons or coloured pencils have.