<p>It seems this "fact" is becoming more debatable. <a href="http://www.livescience.com/17602-earliest-childhood-memories.html">This article</a> and <a href="http://www.livescience.com/14106-infant-amnesia-childhood-memories.html">this article</a> might clear up some misconceptions and confusion about this issue. </p>

<p>It's incredibly difficult to say anything about memory that applies to all situations. Each person will remember different things for different lengths of time, but often it is not based on some aspect of development or age. It seems to be based more on how often the individual recalls the memory, essentially cementing it and exercising the brain's pathways to that memory.</p>

<p>The following may be more of my opinion than anything, but it seems the reason most people don't recall anything before 3 is not an issue of being unable to remember, but that the way a 2 or 3 year old experiences something is not memorable to older individuals. The second of the above articles talks about people who do remember things from very early, and it's things like </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>""One child remembered playing peek-a-boo with her grandfather around her mother's pregnant round belly," Peterson told LiveScience. Another remembered waiting for a bus with her mom and there was a flower growing up through a crack in the sidewalk."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Not exactly the most enthralling memory that someone would share with their friends or family. Since memories, similar to skills or abilities, generally fall in the "use it or lose it" category, It seems reasonable to think that the reason most people don't remember early memories is simply because they don't have a reason to remember those memories. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-05T15:53:27.653Z
2013-09-05T15:53:27.653Z
GetSwifty
<p>As parents of a soon-to-be three-year-old, my wife and I spend a lot of time planning activities and trips for our son.  However, my wife wanted to hold off on some of the big ones (i.e. Disney World), until he was "old enough to remember".</p>

<p>She explained that she was taught (she has a background in Psychology, but has been working in more administrative roles than clinical for quite some time) that people cannot remember things that occur before they are somewhere around 3-4 years old.</p>

<p>What is the mechanism behind this?   Is it safe to assume that some developmental cognitive milestone(s) that must be reached before memories persist?  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-05T19:51:53.343Z
@what Oh, we take my son fun places constantly. However, Disney is a bit more expensive (both in money and time off from work) than a weekend trip to the National Aquarium and Natural History museums, or the zoo, or the fair, or the other various museums and fun activities we take him to on a regular basis.  Chances are that we'll be able to take him to Disney once or twice, and my wife wants to make sure that he will remember it for the rest of his life, since her memories of her first trip to Disney are still special to her.
Beofett
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-12T04:57:18.903Z
Related: [How can we be formed by our childhood's environment if we don't remember much of it?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/11013/7001)
Arnon Weinberg
<memory><developmental-psychology><long-term-memory>
Why do we not remember things from the first couple of years of childhood?
Beofett
# Why do we not remember things from the first couple of years of childhood?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-09-05)

As parents of a soon-to-be three-year-old, my wife and I spend a lot of time planning activities and trips for our son. However, my wife wanted to hold off on some of the big ones (i.e. Disney World), until he was "old enough to remember".

She explained that she was taught (she has a background in Psychology, but has been working in more administrative roles than clinical for quite some time) that people cannot remember things that occur before they are somewhere around 3-4 years old.

What is the mechanism behind this? Is it safe to assume that some developmental cognitive milestone(s) that must be reached before memories persist?

**Tags:** memory, developmental-psychology, long-term-memory

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @what Oh, we take my son fun places constantly. However, Disney is a bit more expensive (both in money and time off from work) than a weekend trip to the National Aquarium and Natural History museums, or the zoo, or the fair, or the other various museums and fun activities we take him to on a regular basis.  Chances are that we'll be able to take him to Disney once or twice, and my wife wants to make sure that he will remember it for the rest of his life, since her memories of her first trip to Disney are still special to her.  
> **username_1**: Related: [How can we be formed by our childhood's environment if we don't remember much of it?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/11013/7001)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-09-05. Score: 7

It seems this "fact" is becoming more debatable. [This article](http://www.livescience.com/17602-earliest-childhood-memories.html) and [this article](http://www.livescience.com/14106-infant-amnesia-childhood-memories.html) might clear up some misconceptions and confusion about this issue.

It's incredibly difficult to say anything about memory that applies to all situations. Each person will remember different things for different lengths of time, but often it is not based on some aspect of development or age. It seems to be based more on how often the individual recalls the memory, essentially cementing it and exercising the brain's pathways to that memory.

The following may be more of my opinion than anything, but it seems the reason most people don't recall anything before 3 is not an issue of being unable to remember, but that the way a 2 or 3 year old experiences something is not memorable to older individuals. The second of the above articles talks about people who do remember things from very early, and it's things like

> ""One child remembered playing peek-a-boo with her grandfather around her mother's pregnant round belly," Peterson told LiveScience. Another remembered waiting for a bus with her mom and there was a flower growing up through a crack in the sidewalk."

Not exactly the most enthralling memory that someone would share with their friends or family. Since memories, similar to skills or abilities, generally fall in the "use it or lose it" category, It seems reasonable to think that the reason most people don't remember early memories is simply because they don't have a reason to remember those memories.


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