It is a much pondered and discussed subject: your earliest childhood memory. For some, it is their first bee sting or a formative interaction with a parent as a toddler. Others claim to be able to recall lying in a pram. But how sure are you that you have actually remembered this experience, rather than it being informed by photographs and family anecdotes?
A new study published in the Psychological Science journal found that 40% of people believe they have a first memory dating back to the age of two or earlier, including having a nappy changed, being in a pushchair or even walking for the first time. Three tends to be the more commonly agreed age of a realistic first memory, but the British academics behind the research suggest five or six is a more likely age to remember something from.
Professor Martin Conway, director of the Centre for Memory and Law at City, University of London, and co-author of the research, explained what fuels such fictional first memories: “When we looked through the responses from participants, we found that a lot of these first ‘memories’ were frequently related to infancy, and a typical example would be a memory based around a pram. For this person, this type of memory could have resulted from someone saying something like ‘mother had a large green pram’. The person then imagines what it would have looked like. Over time these fragments then become a memory and often the person will start to add things in such as a string of toys along the top.”
Share your memories and experiences
We are interested to hear what you believe to be your earliest memory. What age were you and how much detail can you remember? And how sure are you that it is a genuine recollection? Tell us about it in the form below and we’ll feature some of your contributions as part of an upcoming article. If you have a photo of yourself when younger, you can share that with us.
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