At what age is it normal to remember childhood from?

[user40816]

I realised today that I have almost no memory before the age of around 7 and even afterwards, things are hazy. But then I also realise I don't know what's normal so I'm interested to gain some perspective...

I remember little.

I don't think many peoples recollections are actual 'memories', I think they are recollecting stories their parents/others have told them about their childhoods.

I remember a few things from when I was 2 and a half/3 including my brother being born. I remember being at my grandma's house watching Camberwick Green when my dad called to say he'd been born; coming home from hospital after an operation etc. My dad picked me up from the hospital and, as we walked in the house, my mum quickly closed the kitchen door so I wouldn't see the cake she'd made.

I remember being told off by a friend's mum because he and I ran over his dad's vegetable patch. That was before my brother was born because she was looking after me when my mum was in hospital for something. My mum was in and out of hospital a lot before she was pregnant with my brother.

These are all things that were never talked about within our family (we weren't a talking and reminiscing sort of family). So they are memories of the events rather than being told about them.

I can remember my first day at school and other memories from my first year at school. We moved house/school when I was 5 and I can remember viewing the house.

I remember a lot from being 4/5 onwards.

Mine starts at 3. One of my sons starts from 1 (but he has exceptional and very detailed recall ).

Yeah I've done this before. In my head I watched Jurassic park when I was about 5 or 6 and had nightmares about a dinosaur running around my primary school. I was shocked to find out Jurassic park wasn't released until I was 7 and in those days it took ages for films to be released to video so I was probably more like 9 by the time I actually watched it.

My earliest memories are from when I was two years old. I remember a lot of detail of my childhood life before I started school.

Snatches of memory from 18 months (a family holiday), and onwards, more of being pre-school age. I have heard that it's linked to speech - that in order to form proper memories we need to be able to 'tell them' to ourselves like a story, 'I saw a big rabbit and it ran down a hole' sort of thing. Once we can do this, we can consolidate. I spoke very early, so it may have a bearing.

Loads from 3 onwards, but I have a good memory in general. My husband only remembers from around secondary school 😂

I don’t know. My earliest memory was aged 2.5, and my memory is of what I was thinking, rather than something I could see.

It was the day I first met my sister. I don’t remember holding her for the first time or anything; all I remember is her sleeping in the plastic cot. It has a changing mat that slid out from underneath, and in my head I thought she’d fall if I pulled it. I remember almost daring myself to pull it out, and edging it out really slowly with my fingers.

That’s interesting because I’ve just posted that my first memory is actually an inner monologue. I was also an early talker. I’ve got spotty memories which are younger than that (playing with a toggle on an aeroplane tray when I was 18m, picking some very fetching 3d wallpaper off a wall in a house we moved out of when I was 2) and again, they are linked to my thoughts rather than anything else.

A couple of vague memories from 3 or 4. Going up to the hospital age 3 to see my mum after she'd had my sister. Sitting on the stairs during my sister's christening party. Being taken to school on day 1 and crying, then going into the playground at playtime to find my big brother to cheer me up but he was to busy playing with his friends. A few more vague memories from infants age, of Christmas, days out, holidays, family members but I think clear memories started around 7.

I remember being in my pram. Once in the garden and once out shopping. I remember my parents buying a house in an auction when I was eighteen months and going to look round it before we moved in because it was filthy. I remember our furniture being moved in too. I remember being in my high chair. I remember playing with my grandmother's beads sitting on her lap in her garden and having a photo taken. I don't think I was walking then. I look about a year old in the picture. I'm amazed that others don't remember being babies.

Disagree.

I remember a talking toy parrot robot and eating yellow pilau rice with my grandparents when I was two.

My parents couldn't remember this.

My grandmother and uncle later confirmed the toy parrot was his.

We very rarely saw them. There's no way I could have a false memory over this. The pilau rice and parrot aren't in photos.

I have other memories of a similar type from between around 2 and 4.

My parents have a shit memory. DH has a shit memory and can't remember anything before age 8.

Me and DS have scary levels of memory from early childhood.

DS wasn't an early talker or walker. I was. DS never crawled. He moved around on his back from 4 months, never rolled and was cruising by 5 months. We all thought he would be walking really early like me, but he was too cautious/lazy and just cruised until 13 months cos he didn't want to walk! If anything he was slower to talk than most. Yet he definitely remembers stuff from age 2

It's weird to think our own kids won't have memories until a certain age, when we as parents remember everything and put so much hard work and fun and love into those years. But the early years still set them up, and even if they can't remember, they will have the feeling of being loved etc.

I have a few vague memories from being 3 or 4 but most clearer memories are from about aged 5 around the time I started school

I think before 3 our memories are created from what we have been told.

For women the earliest we can remember is 3 and men 5.

I have loads of memory from 3 all the way through my childhood.

I can easily remember back to about three.

I recently described a memory to my mother in some detail. She also remembered the event/location but that I was only 14 months old when it happened. Is that possible?

There's a wide variation rather than a normal age

My earliest memory is from 18 months. It's not correct that no women can remember before 3 and men 5, even if that applies to some men and women.

I remember my sister being born when I was 2 and a half. I remember my Dad looking after me because my Mum was in hospital 30 miles away having a C Section. It was 1957 so probably quite unusual - we lived in an isolated place with no relatives nearby. I remember wandering off a bit and my Mum thinking I was lost.

I remember travelling to a new house overnight by train at around 4. I remember visiting my school before I started at 4 and a half and my first day.

Nonsense.

Mostly from 4-5, and a few flashes from 2-3 - mainly associated with photos taken when I was that age, ie I have seen the photos and remember what I was doing/thinking at the time it was taken. Pretty consistent recall from me starting primary school aged 4.5.

We had a discussion about this a while back - group of about 7 of us - and the answers are very varied! I personally have a couple of memories from being very young - about 18 months - but they are vague now and are probably memories of memories.
Quite a lot from 5 upwards. My friend disbelieves me when I say that I remember being 1 - but I asked my dad once and he verified my description of what happened at the time. She says 7 upwards as thats what she remembers.
The rest of them have the odd memories from being about 4 /5.
I honestly thing there are so many variables though. I had a lot of life changes when I was young so I probably have memories from each 'scenario' -some of them admittedly stressful at the time. Also things can trigger memories - even this thread has triggered some. I don't think our minds are wired to hold everything although possibly there is a way to train our minds to 'bring them back'. I wouldn't want that even if it were possible!

RedToothBrush

Read this:-

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/childhood-memory-infancy-remember-age-fictional-study-research-a8455296.html

We cannot remember before 3 due to our hippocampus not being fully formed. Before that we “remember” in a somatic way. In boys this can take longer.

Me and my son are miracles of nature then. Obviously.

I guess we should give brains for medical research.