Do small children remember ?

blunomore

blunomore

Honorary Master
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
26,789
Reaction score
21
Location
Not yet CT ...
Most people's earliest memories date back to about 3 years of age.

If something were to happen to a 1 or 2 year old, do they remember that? I am not referring to them learning things by repetition (obviously they remember that) but e.g. meeting someone once, or having a bad/traumatic experience.
 
I remember when I was about 3 or 4 when I fell down the stairs. I got better.
 
i remember an incident that happened when i was young. i think i must have been about 4.
 
I remember bits and pieces as a 2-ish year old. Not enough to make sense of anything, crap like playing under the dining room table or hiding behind the curtains :wtf:
 
Yes..I remember the way a plastic mat felt in the hallway. It was see through, had little bubbles in it and made a noise when walking on it. I also remember the kitchen was white and red..and my mom kept the marshmellow mice in the top cupboard. I was 2 or 3 at the time.
 
copacetic said:
I remember my parent's wedding, which was in my first year. No one believes me, but s'true.
Click to expand...

Honest questions to follow:

Is there a video tape of your parents wedding?
Are there photos?
Are there stories that have been or get told about the wedding?

It interests me whether these are real or manufactured memories. Not that I doubt you per se, but I have had some "memories" from early on in my life that I have later realised were more than likely manufactured through stories and photos.


OP
To answer the OP's question. I nearly drowned as a baby, my grandmother found me at the bottom of the pool and had to resuscitate me. I have absolutely no memory of this, and I never have. But I only learned how to swim at age 7 or so because I had a primal fear of any water too deep to sit in.
So I suspect that the actual memory may not stick. But the conclusions that the young mind draws from those events may stick around.

So traumatic experience: The conclusions sticks around, not necessarily the memory.
Meeting a person: Highly, Highly unlikely that you would remember a single thing about them. Unless you attach a traumatic experience to that person.
 
My earliest memory is from when I was about 4 or 5. Then again I have a horrible long term memory. Some things that happened when I was like 13 or 14 I can't even remember :D
 
I remember some things, some vague others in detail.
Vague would be things like toys I played with our interesting people.

One of the most vivid memories I have when I was very very young was when I was about 3 - 4 years old and I had my first pair of velcro sneakers, played with it for hours, still remember it today, in colour!:D
 
Normally you don't remember from when you're 1 or 2. There are some stuff yes. If you suffered trauma then it's most likely buried in your subconscious. My fear of heights for example I think comes from my uncle throwing me up in the air (I remember those moments)
 
I remember things before the age of one, I remember when I was in a pram couldnt speak or walk and my sister use to come and "torture" me.. Then I remember my Grandmother which died around my first birthday, i use to craw under the table (couldn't walk alone) and try to steal her knitting wool ... few other memories too.. After the age of 1.5 I mostly remember everything.. Until I had a car accident and probably because of getting older , my memory now is just little better than average ... And nobody told me the stuff I remember or showed me photos, it was triggered by strong feelings
 
I find the older I get, the worse my memory becomes. When I was younger, I could hear a song once, and know most of the lyrics.

I think the most embarrassing thing is..I have difficulty remembering faces. I speak one on one with people at work for so 30min, and when I see them again at the next appointment, introductions have to start from over.
 
Kid walked in while you were trying for the second one, didn't he/she? :D

I can't remember anything before 3 or 4. Mind you, I can't even remember stuff from yesterday.
 
APoc84 said:
Kid walked in while you were trying for the second one, didn't he/she? :D
Click to expand...
:D

I think maybe if the incident is traumatic, the memory is retained. I was two, playing hide and seek with my older brother and sis. I can still recall the colour of the curtain my sis hid behind. Somehow she broke a mirror , cut herself and I have a vivid recollection of the blood gushing from her leg.
 
My earliest memory is that of going to my grandads funeral. Was 3ish...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X