Keeping Pace

How Yellow Became My Daughter’s Favorite Color

For my first-born, the novelty of having a baby sister, wore off quickly. Soon she began suggesting that we, “take her back to the hoppatel now.” We patiently explained each time, that the baby was here to stay and that she wasn’t going anywhere. Sympathetic to her pains of having to now share the spotlight, we tried to indulge her, well okay, bribe her, in small attempts to keep the peace.

A simple, harmless way to do so was to allow her to choose first. I had an array of plastic sippy cups, bowls, and plates for the kids. What I discovered was given the choice of two cups, if yellow was one of the choices, my eldest would always pick any other color than yellow. At a year old, the youngest didn’t care what color her cup was, as long as it was filled with milk or juice; ultimately we began to automatically hand her the yellow cup or bowl.

Soon, my youngest became conditioned to go right for the yellow. I suppose in hindsight, I realize now that her favorite color was essentially forced upon her. When she outgrew her toddler bed and was ready to move up to a twin sized one, painting and redecorating her room was in order. She requested it, so we painted her room a cheery yellow, and outfitted her bed in a yellow and white gingham quilt. When we shopped for new clothes, or toys,  if it was available in yellow, it was often her first choice.

As time went on, designated cups and bowls a thing of the past, she no longer automatically veered towards the color yellow, though even today, she does still like the color.

I surfed the web this morning, hoping to find a cute saying about yellow, for this post. While I didn’t find that, I did come across an interesting piece on Ask.com:

Yellow can also create feelings of frustration and anger. While it is considered a cheerful color, people are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms.

Could it be, we were actually to blame, for her truly, Terrible Twos?