Does anyone else have few to no memories of childhood?

[Celledora]

Talking with people about childhood memories and thinking about the memories we're making for our children, it seems I'm not normal in having hardly any memories before roughly 8 years old... anyone else?!

My Dh has no memory of things from childhood. He remembers who family are, and me (we grew up together) but I tell about things we did (fun stuff) and places we went and he has no clue, there was trauma behind closed doors so I can see why. Lately though he asks about stuff we did as kids, and asks me to show him places we went. Still doesn't jog his memory though.

It’s a relief hearing that others share this lack of memory. DP finds my brain odd, it’s interesting to read the potential aphasia link though must admit trauma is probably the most likely factor. Brains are fascinating aren’t they?! And how identity is formed via memory. I have a strong ‘feeling’ of being loved when I was little, then of overwhelming sadness when my dad passed away in terrible circumstances when I was 5. I tried so hard to hold onto memories of him but sadly the memories that stuck were of ‘trying to remember’ and the sadness and resulting family breakdown.

I was always considered bright academically but feel absolutely ‘foggy’ again since having baby brain/PND 3-4 years ago and don’t remember a lot about DS’s first year.

Even if he doesn’t recall the details, the vague idea I guess is to give DS that sense of security and happiness that will hopefully help his brain develop healthily...

Weirdly, smells trigger very intense recollections and feelings. I can connect a smell to someone I’d forgotten all about and to the person I was at that time!

I had a 'difficult' rather than traumatic childhood so vividly remember things where the emotion was pretty upsetting - like the thread earlier where people were 'pranked' by their own family - I absolutely remember the swirling feeling of being alone in a crowd when my Dad 'lost' me when he was just around the corner...similarly when he punted me square on the tailbone for lingering in fascination at the brand new fish counter in the supermarket instead of just saying come on, get a move on...I don't remember my old school friends and houses because we never lived anywhere for very long.

I generally think that if you've lived in the same place around the same people for a long time then those wispy early memories are reinforced by repetition in a way that we army brats don't have?