Let’s be honest: Managing a toddler in Lagos is an extreme sport.
Between the early morning school runs on the Third Mainland Bridge, the “mummy, I want Cocomelon” tantrums, and the pressure to ensure they are meeting their milestones, it is exhausting. It is tempting to hand over the iPad just to get 20 minutes of peace.
But as a child development advocate, I often hear pediatricians say the same thing: “Children learn best when they can touch, feel, and manipulate the world around them.”
Teaching your child colors doesn’t require an expensive app. In fact, your daily life in Nigeria is the most colorful classroom in the world. Here are 9 pediatrician-approved methods to teach colors—screen-free.
1. The “Danfo” Spotting Game
Best for: Visual Discrimination & Attention
Turn Lagos traffic into a game. instead of zoning out, ask your toddler to spot specific vehicles.
- The Prompt: “Can you find a Yellow Danfo?” or “Show me a White car.”
- Why it works: Developmental experts call this “active scanning.” It forces the brain to filter out visual noise and focus on one specific attribute (color), strengthening their attention span.
2. The “Market Day” Sort
Best for: Sensory Play & Categorization
The next time you are sorting your market haul, involve your little one.
- The Activity: Give them three bowls. Ask them to put the Red peppers (Tatashe/Rodo) in one, the Brown onions in another, and the Green Ugu leaves in the third.
- Pediatric Insight: Sorting is a precursor to math. Before a child can count “1, 2, 3,” they must learn to group things by category.
3. The “Noun-First” Naming Trick
Best for: Language Development
A study from Stanford University suggests that how you say the color matters.
- The Trick: Instead of saying “Look at the Red Ball,” say “The Ball is Red.”
- Why it works: Toddlers process nouns (objects) faster than adjectives (descriptions). By naming the object first, you help them lock onto the item before introducing its color property.
4. “Laundry Basket” Basketball
Best for: Gross Motor Skills
Laundry day doesn’t have to be a chore.
- The Activity: Throw a pile of clean socks on the bed. Ask your child to throw the White socks into the basket and keep the Black socks on the bed.
- The “Daily Kids Find” Solution: If you want to make this more structured, our Montessori Color Sorting Bowls are designed specifically for this kind of “put-and-take” play, which builds fine motor precision.
5. The Ankara Fabric Hunt
Best for: Pattern Recognition
Nigerian homes are filled with colorful fabrics.
- The Activity: Lay out three different Ankara pieces. Ask your child to point to the one that has Blue in it.
- Why it works: This is advanced visual discrimination. Finding a specific color inside a complex pattern is a fantastic brain workout for a 2-year-old.
6. Snack Time Selection
Best for: Autonomy & Decision Making
- The Activity: Offer choices based on color. “Do you want the Yellow banana or the Red apple?”
- Why it works: It empowers the child. They aren’t just eating; they are making a conscious choice based on a visual cue.
7. Bath Time Alchemy
Best for: Cause and Effect
- The Activity: Use non-toxic bath drops (or a tiny drop of food coloring) to turn the bathwater Blue one night and Pink the next.
- The “Daily Kids Find” Solution: Pair this with our water-safe stacking cups. Pouring “blue water” from one cup to another teaches volume and physics alongside color recognition.
8. The “Wrong Color” Joke
Best for: Critical Thinking (Ages 2.5+)
Toddlers love it when adults make mistakes.
- The Activity: Point to a clearly Green leaf and say, “Wow, look at that Purple leaf!”
- Why it works: If your child laughs or corrects you, congratulations! They have mastered “color constancy”—the ability to trust their own perception over yours. This is a huge cognitive leap.
9. Start with “Matching,” Not “Naming”
Best for: Reducing Frustration
Many parents worry when their 2-year-old can’t say “Blue.”
- The Doctor’s Note: Don’t panic. Developmentally, children can match colors (put blue with blue) long before they can name them.
- The Tool: Start with simple wooden puzzles or shape sorters where the color serves as a hint for where the piece fits. This builds confidence without the pressure of verbal testing.
The Bottom Line for Lagos Parents
You don’t need to be a teacher to teach your child. You just need to be present.
Whether you are stuck in traffic on the Lekki-Epe Expressway or folding clothes at home, every moment is an opportunity to learn.
Looking for tools to help?
At Daily Kids Find, we specialize in open-ended toys that support these exact developmental stages. From durable wooden sorters to non-toxic art supplies, we stock the tools that make learning natural (and screen-free).
👉 Browse our “Early Learning” Collection here to find the perfect color-learning companion for your toddler.
