Your earliest childhood memories

[Indigo Blue]

What sorts of memories do you have of your childhood before 7-8 years old? Do you have memories of your parents? Like specific memories? Do you remember the things around you more (toys, your room, backyard) or do you have more people memories (being read to, sitting on laps, playing games, memories of faces)?

[Kassia]

Definitely people/experience memories - some good, some very very bad.

[Elizabeth86]

I feel like I remember a lot of my early childhood. I will say the memories are a bit less vivid after I had my own kids. 

[Elizabeth86]

Just now, Elizabeth86 said:

I feel like I remember a lot of my early childhood. I will say the memories are a bit less vivid after I had my own kids. 

I remember my room, my yard, my toys, my books, play and interacting with my family, I remember smells. I guess it helps I never moved my whole childhood. Lol

[Arcadia]

People and places. I puked every day in preK and K so I can still remember the school buildings and my teachers. The childhood playground where I had lots of fond memories as well as fell down a lot of times. My grandaunt who passed when I was very young. My swimming coach and the swimming pool where I started learning swimming as a six year old. I also remembered all my elementary school (1st to 6th) teachers.

I have lots of LEGOs and Playmobil as a child. I remembered some of the sets but not all. I also have lots of soft toys and I remembered quite a few including where they were bought. 
 

I also had lots of memories of mean and/or manipulative people. I have a guarded personality since I was a baby (according to relatives) and if someone is mean or manipulative, I would avoid if possible because I don’t wish to get hurt. DS17 has a guarded personality like mine. 

[Katy]

Yes I have many specific memories. My earliest is being a baby on the floor. My mom was cooking dinner. I rolled on my back and was struggling and fussing because I wanted to sit up but I couldn’t. My mom came over and picked me up and breastfed me, and at first I fussed more because I wanted to sit, not eat, but then I gave up & accepted the distraction. She says she stopped breastfeeding when I was 6 months old. Also I didn’t think of her as mom OR as me at that age. It was more of an, “Oh, it’s you.” But in a sense of distinct from me familiarity, not in word thoughts.

I am  certain I only remember this because of watching a segment on Sesame Street when I was 4 about what my earliest memory is. Because after that is a handful of other memories I thought of first after watching that segment. But it has made my reaction to object permanence theories of development cynical. I definitely knew my mom was someone else and that she existed even out of my sight before 7 months. 

And before anyone thinks I’m nuts I have specific memories of things that happened when I was 2-4 that cousins who are 4-6 years older than me didn’t remember but their moms confirmed. 

[wendyroo]

I remember a red light flashing on the top of a building outside my bedroom window at my first house. I would have been 3-4 years old. I have no other memories from that time.

I remember very vividly getting a math problem wrong in kindergarten. I also had a kids' record player at that time, and I remember how the records looked spinning.

We built a house and moved between kindergarten and first, and one would think that was pretty memorable, but I actually have no memories from that time. It was very stressful at home and at school, so I think I was just in survival mode.

I have a smattering of memories from second and third grades, but nothing much until fourth.

[Jenny in Florida]

I have a very clear memory of sitting in my crib reading a Dr. Suess book. (I also very clearly remember my mother telling me I wasn't "reading," and that I had just memorized the words. She was wrong.)

I have a pretty clear dividing line, because we moved when I was just starting second grade. So, anything from before that time would put me at seven or younger.

• I remember what must have been my 6th birthday party. We had a Slip & Slide and played my favorite album, Dr. Doolittle Presents The Grasshoppers.
• I remember going to church with some friends from the neighborhood.
• I attended an etiquette class held at a local department store. I vividly remember the sensation of being dressed up, carrying my little purse with a handkerchief and a comb and an extra pair of white gloves, walking through the store. I can clearly visualize the classroom.
• I remember listening to some read-along records with neighborhood kids and them getting offended and going home because they insisted the record said a "bad word." The word was "damp," but they had never heard it and thought the narrator was saying "damn." I tried to show them in the book, but they wouldn't look or listen or believe me.
•  H.R. Pufnstuff was my favorite TV show, and I remember being in the family room on Saturday mornings watching. One week, I decided to try to write down the names of all of the people in the credits, because I wanted to send them thank you notes for making such a great show. 
• One Easter, I got a (what seemed to me at the time) huge H.R. Pufnstuff plush toy. 
• Oh, I remember lying on the living room floor talking to our beagle, Barney.

So, I guess for me, it's mostly events and environments/sensations, rather than specific people.

[AmandaVT]

From before 5, they're vague, except for big things. I remember tripping into the waffle maker and burning my elbow when I was about 4. We also had a bad stomach flu (maybe the first time swine flu came around in the late 70's?) in our family and I remember my brother and mom being gone at the hospital and waking up in the middle of the night hearing my dad throwing up and thinking he was a monster. I was probably 3 1/2 then. I remember seeing my brother in the hospital when he was born and getting a doll (I was 3). That's about it for early memories I think. After about 4, they start to get a bit clearer - first day of preschool, etc. 

[stephanier.1765]

I have a distinct memory, when I was two, of my mother telling me that I have to wear a shirt, even if it was hot. It was ok for Dad and Brother to go shirtless, but not me. I think this sticks with me because I was so upset at the unfairness of it.

[kbutton]

I remember when my brother was a baby, and I was 2 when he was born. I remember very clearly helping/watching my mom make bottles--they were Playtex, and I knew exactly how to assemble them, etc. I have some memories from that time that are mashed together and wrong, but I am pretty sure parts are true, but I just put in other things that struck me as memorable.

I have very clear memories from 3 on. I remember the kinds of things that no one else remembers, though sometimes the right person will come along and remember, or the right detail will jog someone else's memory. I have yet to be wrong. I waited 40+ years to figure out where a family picnic was where I saw an A-frame house, lol! Everyone was so sure that I was just remembering my aunt building an A frame. Nope, that was afterwards, but not long afterwards. Relatives I hadn't seen since that day came to visit, and we were looking at pictures. There is a picture that I thought might be the same picnic because it looked familiar, and those relatives confirmed that they had rented an A-frame just down the road for a little while during that time. As a kid, I would look for that house everywhere I went, lol!!!

21 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

I remember my room, my yard, my toys, my books, play and interacting with my family, I remember smells. I guess it helps I never moved my whole childhood. Lol

Same for me. My parents still live in the same house though it's changed drastically. We also looked at pictures a lot as a kid, and I think that made a difference in cementing things in my head.

17 minutes ago, Katy said:

Yes I have many specific memories. My earliest is being a baby on the floor. My mom was cooking dinner. I rolled on my back and was struggling and fussing because I wanted to sit up but I couldn’t. My mom came over and picked me up and breastfed me, and at first I fussed more because I wanted to sit, not eat, but then I gave up & accepted the distraction. She says she stopped breastfeeding when I was 6 months old. Also I didn’t think of her as mom OR as me at that age. It was more of an, “Oh, it’s you.” But in a sense of distinct from me familiarity, not in word thoughts.

I am  certain I only remember this because of watching a segment on Sesame Street when I was 4 about what my earliest memory is. Because after that is a handful of other memories I thought of first after watching that segment. But it has made my reaction to object permanence theories of development cynical. I definitely knew my mom was someone else and that she existed even out of my sight before 7 months. 

And before anyone thinks I’m nuts I have specific memories of things that happened when I was 2-4 that cousins who are 4-6 years older than me didn’t remember but their moms confirmed. 

I don't think you are nuts. I think it's rare but not impossible.

I think my older son had memories like that when he was little but then pruned them around the age of six. He still does remember things from when he was 2ish though. 

Regarding the bolded, I think that developmental milestones and such are really very different for kids who are gifted. My kids never fit any kind of baby book, and I couldn't talk about what they were like with people without being guarded and careful. Once in a while someone would observe my kids doing something so unusual that they were shaking their heads and saying, "But that's not possible." If they were laughing and just a little surprised, I would assure them it's possible. If they were freaked out, I would just nod along like, "Yes, how strange." I was told on multiple occasions that I must be lying about my kids, so I learned to shut up.

[marbel]

I remember the first days of kindergarten because it was humiliating for me and my older sister. I cried and cried. She had to be called from her classroom, 5th grade I guess, she was 10 - to console me. I later remember loving school so much and can picture some of the things in the classroom; specifically a pegboard which I loved making pictures with.

I remember some other specific things from my early childhood. Like, a rock in the creek that my older siblings could jump to but I couldn't get to. My siblings are 5 and 10 years older than me)

 

 

[busymama7]

My brother was hit by a car and killed when I was 2 and 3/4.  My memory begins immediately after his funeral when we were on airplane and I was afraid to get up to go to the bathroom and my sister talked me through it. I have always figured my brain blocked memories earlier because of the trauma.

Two of my sons look like my brother.  On several occasions they have done something or have a certain look and before thinking I think "oh that reminds me of (brother)". And then I remember that I don't remember him. But I think the memories are there somewhere. 

[SKL]

The earliest memory I have where I can roughly define my age was when I was a young 2yo.  I remember my aunt taking care of me and wanting me to wear diapers though I was potty trained.  I was offended.  😛  Also around the same time, there was an accident where I busted my head open.  I have memories of what led up to that.  However, I am not sure whether or not I invented those latter memories after the fact.

I have vague memories of listening to then-popular music with my mom and/or dad.  The memories include music, but not visual images ... though that could be because I was legally blind, as was discovered later.  The music I remember listening to goes back at least to when I was 2yo.

Again age 2, I remember hanging around my mom while she diapered my baby sister.

I remember going to the "beauty shop" with my mom when I was a preschooler.  Well, I probably have tons of preschool memories if I take the time to think about it.  Like learning how to ride a bike at 4yo.  I remember the early KG tests I took at 4yo ... and the stories my brothers told me before the tests (about how the KG teacher beats kids with hangers if they make a mistake).  Still age 4, I remember my first day of school and how I wasn't sure which name to tell my teacher (my legal name [which my parents only used when I was naughty] or my nickname), which annoyed my teacher, making me scared of her ... and many other KG memories.  I also remember stealing money from my mom at age 4, going to the store and spending it, being caught, and trying to worm my way out of trouble.  😛 

The early memories with my parents present are all warm, happy memories ... except for the stealing incident ... that time I was scared, but I don't remember my mom doing anything traumatic about it.

Edited August 17, 2022 by SKL

[Brittany1116]

I have memories of the house we lived in before I started Kindergarten. Pretty much the whole house and yard, where the TV was, where the dog slept, decor, etc. Most of my early memories are places and people, not specific interactions. Editing here to add: I have memories of being in the backseat of a car my parents totaled when I was 4. I wasn't in it during the accident; the memories are of the vehicle interior prior to the event. 

My husband had a surgery at 2 and recalls his terror and screaming for his dad to help as he was wheeled down the hall.

Edited August 17, 2022 by Brittany1116

[reign]

I remember sitting on the mat by my front door watching Sesame Street and learning/practicing  to tie my shoes so I could go to kindergarten. I turned 5 that summer. 
 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by reign

[Ottakee]

I have some memories of 2-3 years old when we lived in South Carolina.  My first really clear memory was waking up during my open heart surgery with the doctors standing over me and saying they weren’t done stitching me up yet.  And then the hospital bed there and the girl in the next bed and the fact that the nurses would not let me ride the trike in the hospital play room.  I had to glue styrofoam peanuts to paper.   I was 3 1/2 then.

[Pamela H in Texas]

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

What sorts of memories do you have of your childhood before 7-8 years old? Do you have memories of your parents? Like specific memories? Do you remember the things around you more (toys, your room, backyard) or do you have more people memories (being read to, sitting on laps, playing games, memories of faces)?

I have a variety of childhood memories.  They range from happy times, mundane times, and severe trauma.

Yes, I remember good and bad things about my parents.  Yes, specific memories such as when my mom helped my brother and me when we got hot pepper on us.  My mom was my brownie scout leader so I remember various things around that.  I remember going to camps with my parents and a father-daughter dance.  I remember going and getting our first microwave as well as when we had a major flood (Houston), both when I was about 5. I remember doing yard work.  I remember a spanking or two.  I remember a few things with extended family also.

Yes, I remember my room from my stuffed animals to my wall art.  I remember my Barbie suitcase type thing in my closet.  I remember where my bed was in my room when I was about 7.  I remember our yards, front and back, the swingset, the tree I planted, raking up pine needles, etc.  I remember jumping on my brother's bed.  

I remember our street, neighbors, where the school was, the field we rode the three wheeler in.  

I have a few memories from toddlerhood; but most memories start around age 5.  

 

 

[mommyoffive]

I am always blown away by people who have early memories.  I don't.  I honestly don't know what is my earliest memory compared to just stories that were repeated to me over the years.  

[Melissa Louise]

I have a lot of memories from when I was 3 or so, which I can date, because we moved when I was 5.

One memory that stands out is when an old lady in the flat across the way died. She and her sister had given me a doll. I remember my Mum telling me that one of the sisters had died.

Another memory is of hiding under the kitchen table.

Lots of memories about going to Mass where I played with a glo-mesh purse and was scared a pine tree on the way home would fall over.

I remember being told after the fact about a miscarriage my mother had - just in terms of 'you're not having a baby brother any more'.

I have a lot of memories from my Grandma's house, including from when I was three and was being minded by her while my mother went out to buy me some ballet shoes.

I remember my first dancing concert - I was three.

I remember a lot of my term at preschool (not great) and also my first day of school at 4 - but not anything about the classroom, about the first time I saw someone who was fat.

Before three, I only remember my first dream, which was of two voices, one low and one high, taking turns to talk but not saying words I could understand.

My best early memory was when I was four, and my Dad was at home on a week day. He made hot chips to eat while we all watched Play School on the black and white TV.

I sadly do not have memories of any physical affection, lap sitting etc.

 

 

[Guest]

People memories for sure. One of my earliest memories was when I was probably five. If we were coming home from something at night, I would fake falling asleep in the car because my dad would carry me in and tuck me into bed. Bedtime was ordinarily my mom’s domain so I really relished that tenderness of being tucked into bed by my dad. 
 

On the other hand, I also have a vivid and terrible memory when my parents apparently concluded that they must “break” my nightime wandering a into their bed. Without preamble one night my parents moved a chest in front of their door so I could not get in. I do remember sobbing and crying and it seems to me I fell asleep on the floor. I’m sure it did “break” me of it but it definitely harmed my sense of worth. This memory is why I strive never to abruptly change the rules on my kids without explanation. 
 

I also remember a girl in my neighborhood pushing me into her swimming pool and my sister rescuing me from drowning. 
 

I remember my mother sitting me in front of the TV to watch The Muppet Show. I kept saying, “It should be *puppet* show! Why are they saying *muppet* show?” Even then I was a stickler for grammatical accuracy, lol! 

[73349]

*Very* spotty before age 9-10. Little moments. The earliest are a couple of moments that would have been during preschool, and one that may have been before that (being frustrated with my mother, who kept telling me I could have candy "later").

[Lecka]

My earliest (and only early) memories are of my parents fighting before they got divorced.  My Dad moved out when I was 3 so I know I was 3.

Then I have memories of being 5.  I remember my sister leaving for college, and I remember a few things from Kindergarten.  I also remember my grandmother giving me a special outfit with my name embroidered on it, at my birthday, and she died while I was in Kindergarten.  I remember when I was told she died, and I also have more memories with her that I think are all from when I was 5.  

[Laura Corin]

I remember holding my mother's hand in the street. And waiting for the bus with her. I remember how she used to wash my hair. I remember sitting on the sofa watching The Magic Roundabout with my dad.

I remember being in France with my family while my dad was making documentaries - I remember weather, events and food.

I also remember accidents that my brothers had when I was with them.

[Indigo Blue]

Wow, I was just thinking of a memory I had of my brother, a year younger, being in his crib alone with his baby bottle. I remember hearing them falling out and hitting the floor. In my head, the image I remember was that the bottles were glass and the caps were black. I haven’t seen black caps and rings since then, so I was wondering if maybe I wasn’t remembering correctly. I just looked it up!

They were black! Gosh, I would never leave a baby alone with a bottle. 

[KeriJ]

I have tons of memories from age 3 on. I also have one memory from when I was 1 and a few from when I was 2.

[Indigo Blue]

Most of my memories are of objects and not parents/people. I struggle so hard, and they just aren’t there! Well, there are a few. But I have very early crib memories and can remember lots of things in detail. Most of them are just memories of running in the yard, playing in my room, getting under the crawl space and getting into a can of paint. But not of interacting with parents, except for very few instances. 

[Indigo Blue]

1 hour ago, Quill said:

I kept saying, “It should be *puppet* show! Why are they saying *muppet* show?” Even then I was a stickler for grammatical accuracy, lol! 

That’s so funny!

[Indigo Blue]

2 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

I sadly do not have memories of any physical affection, lap sitting etc.

Same.

[Indigo Blue]

I have a memory of my mom feeding me puffed rice (Sugar Smacks) cereal in milk. Puffed rice has a little, tiny brown dot at one end of each grain. I remember the spoon coming to my face, and each time I would see the tiny dot and ask, “What’s that?” She wouldn’t answer. I kept asking as each bite came close to my face, but she never told me what that was. I remember wanting to know so badly what that little dot was.

[Annie G]

I was 2 years 7 months , living in California, when JFK was killed and I remember that time well. 
From the same time period I recall the next door neighbor’s Halloween party, my sisters tricking me to get in a barrel that they then rolled down the hill in our side yard, and I recall our neighbor giving me a Pebbles Flintstone doll because we were moving away. 
 

My most vivid childhood memory was when I was about 6, living in Connecticut, and we were on a ferry. My mom and sisters stayed in the car but Dad and I got out and stood at the railing with the wind blowing as we crossed. man, that was a great memory. When I was an adult I found out IT NEVER HAPPENED. My family swears we never went on any ferry ever. 
 

So…the earlier memories? Who knows. My family says they happened (I asked!) but who knows. 

[SKL]

7 minutes ago, Annie G said:

My most vivid childhood memory was when I was about 6, living in Connecticut, and we were on a ferry. My mom and sisters stayed in the car but Dad and I got out and stood at the railing with the wind blowing as we crossed. man, that was a great memory. When I was an adult I found out IT NEVER HAPPENED. My family swears we never went on any ferry ever.

I had a "memory" of going up to the top of a tall building with my family, in my mom's arms, and almost falling.  My folks say this absolutely never happened.  Years later I decided that I must have taken someone's words literally when they were joking around.  I do believe we went up in the building, but the falling part must have been a huge exaggeration.

I was way too literal about things.  Once I heard my mom saying that a family friend "doesn't have a dime."  Next chance I had, I went and asked that lady if she had a dime, and explained why I thought she might not have one.  My mom was livid.

It's a good reminder to watch our creative language around little kids.

[elegantlion]

I have a lot of memories from before the age of three. I can't pinpoint how far back but we moved when I was three and they are specifically from that house. My mom, who has a great memory, has confirmed a number of my memories over the years. 

I have a weird gap in my memory, like I can't remember 1st grade very well. I remember K and 2nd and 3rd but not 1st. 

[Brittany1116]

43 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

I have a lot of memories from before the age of three. I can't pinpoint how far back but we moved when I was three and they are specifically from that house. My mom, who has a great memory, has confirmed a number of my memories over the years. 

I have a weird gap in my memory, like I can't remember 1st grade very well. I remember K and 2nd and 3rd but not 1st. 

I remember ages approximately 4-9, nothing of 5th grade except that I got my only C ever, and nothing of 6th grade. Then clearly I recall everything from 7th (we moved across the state that year), then another gap for 8th and 9th. 

[Scarlett]

I was 4 1/2 when my brother was born and that time period is probably my earliest memories.

[EKS]

I remember a lot from 3 1/2 on because we moved to Boston for a year at that point. 

Prior to that I have memories of various scenes: lying in bed listening to the birds chirp in the morning, lying in bed at night and listening to the crickets chirp, playing in the bed of my father's old pickup, walking around the block, making handprints on dry concrete with wet hands at preschool, sitting on the carpet that we were told would bite us if we talked at preschool, getting my throat checked every morning on the way in to preschool, that sort of thing, all snapshots.

[J-rap]

I have a memory of when I was born… Probably made up 😆, but it’s an image I’ve always had, passing from darkness into bright light. I have another memory from my first birthday— probably also made up from stories I’ve heard, but I’ve told my mother about where I was sitting and a present I got, and she didn’t remember telling me that and there are no pictures.  I also have a memory of when I was 3 and was trying to get my mother’s attention by looking very sad. 😁. Who knows what’s really true!

[katilac]

7 hours ago, Katy said:

But it has made my reaction to object permanence theories of development cynical. I definitely knew my mom was someone else and that she existed even out of my sight before 7 months. 

Well, you're working with dated information. More recent research has a much earlier window for object permanence to begin, between around four to seven months. Piaget was the starting point, not the end point, but you will still hear a lot of his research and ideas repeated unchanged. Because people are lazy. 

[Katy]

6 hours ago, Quill said:

I remember my mother sitting me in front of the TV to watch The Muppet Show. I kept saying, “It should be *puppet* show! Why are they saying *muppet* show?” Even then I was a stickler for grammatical accuracy, lol! 

I remember being frustrated about the same thing!  Did you also get frustrated that NEW boxes of crayons came with the colors in a weird, out of rainbow order pattern?

11 minutes ago, katilac said:

Well, you're working with dated information. More recent research has a much earlier window for object permanence to begin, between around four to seven months. Piaget was the starting point, not the end point, but you will still hear a lot of his research and ideas repeated unchanged. Because people are lazy. 

Yeah, well I took that class more than 20 years ago, and it seemed more about memorizing facts than learning useful information.  The instructor couldn't explain how Piaget even came to that conclusion.

[mom31257]

Here's a few of my earliest specific memories. 

I remember getting hurt a couple of different times when I was three. Once was on a tricycle that turned on its side on the edge of our lawn right beside a long driveway. The other was running through an outdoor play area. There was a metal ironing board out there (crazy, huh?), and the leg of it punctured the back of my leg. I remember being at the doctor's office and looking into the wound before I got a tetanus shot.

I have a very good memory when I was almost 5. I was sitting on the back steps of our house with my mother, and my father brought us a puppy from the train yard where he worked. I remember him placing the pup in my mother's hands and he fit right in both of them. He had a small brown strip on his back, and she said we should call him Dash. We did, but it grew far down the sides of his body. He lived until I was 20 years old despite being hit by a car more than once and being shot in the hip. 

I have a memory when I was 5 at my grandparents house. My great-grandmother lived in the basement, and I loved going down to visit her. I had been with her and went to the stairs to go back up. I heard crying in the kitchen at the top of the stairs. Everyone was upset. In my mind, it seems like I stood there a very long time listening and wondering what could be so sad. One of my great-grandfathers had died. 

[kbutton]

17 hours ago, Annie G said:

My most vivid childhood memory was when I was about 6, living in Connecticut, and we were on a ferry. My mom and sisters stayed in the car but Dad and I got out and stood at the railing with the wind blowing as we crossed. man, that was a great memory. When I was an adult I found out IT NEVER HAPPENED. My family swears we never went on any ferry ever. 

My memories of recent years are sketchier than my older son’s are of recent years, but I was right for 40+ years about that silly A frame house. It just wasn’t as fascinating to everyone else, and it wasn’t a central event of the day.

If you are normally reliable, it probably happened. An exception might be that you superimposed a vivid interest on top of a similar but different memory, such as seeing a fascinating clip about how a ferry works on TV after standing at a misty waterfall with a railing. 

[Lady Florida.]

The earliest memories I have are from when I was 4 and are all related to my new baby brother. I remember my mother lying in bed and placing my hand on her abdomen so I could feel him kick. I remember going to the hospital parking lot with my dad and my mom coming to the window with the new baby so I could see him and wave (kids were definitely not allowed in hospitals back then). And I remember playing outside with the boy next door while my dad was at work, my mom still in the hospital with the baby, and my grandmother staying at the house to watch me.

All my other childhood memories start around the ages of late 6 to 7. 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Lady Florida.

[TravelingChris]

My earliest is the July 20tj eclipse, (psrtial where we were which I learned only a few years ago from my slmost 7 yesrs older brother).  I remembered the car, being held, yhst we wete near water. and iy got darker snd quiet.  I was 6.3 months old.

Second that I csn place is the assassination of JFK. Of course, I didn't understand about what happened then, but my mom and her nextdoor were on our kitchen, chatting, ironing, znd listening to the radio.  Then announcement noise znd they were crying.  I was in z high chair.

[Carol in Cal.]

I distinctly remember my mom being pregnant with my brother, and the period after he was born.

Since he was born when I was 2 years and 10 months old, I have memories before that.  I don’t know how far back they go because I don’t have a ‘marker’ on the earlier ones, but I think that in my very earliest one I was at Golden Gate Park with my grandmother as a toddler, feeding the ducks, and I actually managed to touch one.  

[Jenny in Florida]

I was telling my husband about this thread yesterday, and a whole flood of other memories opened up for me (the time my mother closed the car door on my finger and felt so badly about it that she bought me a new doll, being taken to the babysitter's house and thinking that very 1960s teenaged girl had to be the coolest human alive, several memories of preschool, kindergarten and first grade  . . . ). What I find really interesting is that pretty much all of these are about specific experiences/sensations/emotions, not really about other people. I don't "see" other people's faces in these little memory videos, although I clearly visualize places and things and remember how I felt about it all. 

Probably means something deep and dark is wrong with me, just like my mother said.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[Ausmumof3]

I have a couple of distinct memories from before five. One was from a rental house we moved out of before I attended school so it’s easy to date. I remember wondering why my older sister could crunch her carrots when she chewed them and I couldn’t. Years later I discovered she only ate raw carrot whereas mine were cooked 😆

I also distinctly remember the cobwebs in the toilet of the farm house. 
 

I do have a lot more from around five, including my birthday being cancelled because I was sick, the first reader I read and being amazed at the patterns of rhyme (this was before I went to school so before five by a little bit) and I remember our tiny reception class. Weirdly I also remember the school headmaster giving some kind of talk and telling us all that most people have flabby thighs but one of our teachers had muscle between her thighs because she goes horse riding. Thinking back it’s bizarrely inappropriate so I don’t know if that’s why I remembered it or what. I also remember in reception we wrote a book and our teacher took it away and “published it”. She did this by hand typing them up on an old type writer and putting a cover on them. This memory is helped by me having the book still but I still remember the amazing feeling of seeing my book in print. I remember learning to ride my first bike (and who taught me) and I remember specific plants in my garden that I used in my game, mostly I think because of their very distinct texture. I remember mum reading Anne of Green Gables to me and some poetry.

I remember Mum getting frustrated because I loved playing with her hair. She used to curl the bottom under and I loved to feel the bottom part of the curl. I also have lots of animal related memories but I’m not quite sure of the dates on those ones. They seem young.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[TravelingChris]

23 hours ago, SKL said:

I had a "memory" of going up to the top of a tall building with my family, in my mom's arms, and almost falling.  My folks say this absolutely never happened.  Years later I decided that I must have taken someone's words literally when they were joking around.  I do believe we went up in the building, but the falling part must have been a huge exaggeration.

I was way too literal about things.  Once I heard my mom saying that a family friend "doesn't have a dime."  Next chance I had, I went and asked that lady if she had a dime, and explained why I thought she might not have one.  My mom was livid.

It's a good reminder to watch our creative language around little kids.

DD1 is my very analytic, child.  She didn't want Jesus in her heart.  She wanted her heart to keep beating and was scared that someone could get in there.

[lynn]

My earliest memory is looking up at  my mom while she was at the kitchen sink washing dishes when she was pregnant with my brother so I was around 4.  I also remember my nana coming to stay with us when he was born and my parents coming home with him.  I do have a sister that was 2 years younger than me but I don't recall memories with her until I was a bit older although she obviosly was there.  Under 7 I have  memories of my dad bringing us skating and sledding, trick or treating, visiting my grandparents, big happy events.

[Carol in Cal.]

4 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

I was telling my husband about this thread yesterday, and a whole flood of other memories opened up for me (the time my mother closed the car door on my finger and felt so badly about it that she bought me a new doll, being taken to the babysitter's house and thinking that very 1960s teenaged girl had to be the coolest human alive, several memories of preschool, kindergarten and first grade  . . . ). What I find really interesting is that pretty much all of these are about specific experiences/sensations/emotions, not really about other people. I don't "see" other people's faces in these little memory videos, although I clearly visualize places and things and remember how I felt about it all. 

Probably means something deep and dark is wrong with me, just like my mother said.

Dear Jenny, there is nothing deep and dark wrong with you.  Your mom is wrong.  Love, everybody who knows you in person or online

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Dear Jenny, there is nothing deep and dark wrong with you.  Your mom is wrong.  Love, everybody who knows you in person or online

QFT and big hugs to @Jenny in Florida