How did he get hazel eyes?

Question

My son was born with greenish/brown eyes. He is a month old now and his eyes look even greener. His father looked at them and said they were straight green. I still think they are green-brown or "hazel". My question is...how does this color come about? I am a dark skinned black woman and the father is white/ italian, but we both have brown eyes, my parents have brown eyes, and his parents have brown eyes. I do have some caucasian people in my family but none of them have green eyes. He does have a sister with these hazel eyes so I dunno. How are they made? Please explain the genetics of it. Don't both parents have to have a recessive trait for the green in order to bring the green out?

Answer 1

Me and by older brother have Hazel eyes. His has more green and mine has more brown. No one in our family has light colored eyes. We are both browned skinned. How did we get this eye color?

Answer 2

"white babies are not ever born with brown eyes"

This is not true at all. I'm entirely European, my parents both have green eyes, my siblings have hazel blue/green eyes, three grandparents had blue eyes, and one brown eyes, and I was born with dark brown eyes that have since lightened to hazel brown/green.

Eye color is controlled primarily be allels, which are groups of genes, not one single gene, so brown does not always turn out to be the dominant gene as far as expression goes.

Answer 3

Green eyes are recessive genes, which means each parent passes you a color eye gene. you could have brown eyes but be a carrier for the blue or green eyes genes and pass those genes to your children.  thats exactly what happened in this case. Although both of you have brown eyes; its now proven you both have a color eye gene, that's why your son has green eyes.

Answer 4

Hazel eyes are not greenish brown. That's a misconception. If your eyes are greenish brown, they are considered green. Hazel eyes are light golden brown. That's the definition of "hazel".

See these links for pure hazel eyes AND hazel eyes:

http://www.eyeboutique.com/contacts.htm

http://www.fanteye.com/extimages/p_FreshlooksColorblendsChartLG.jpg