I have a very early memory of being in someone’s arms, seeing the grey sky above, and cold white things falling on my face. I have no idea when that happened.
After that, my next memory is of standing in a crib, holding the bars, looking at a ray of light coming through the door of the room, and crying. My mother brought me a bottle. I took it and lay down.
My brother wasn’t born yet, and we are 17 months apart. My mother confirmed that I moved from the crib to a low cot when my brother was born.
I have a memory of my parents’ first store from when I was about a year and a half and another a while later of their second store which was being fixed up. I’m aware these memories may be manufactured however, but I suppose I’ll never know. My recollection fits the facts but I suppose I could be remembering being told about the stuff when I was older. Anyway, I’m male.
There are earlier fragments, but the oldest coherent memory I have was when I was 3. I was sitting on the kitchen floor with a box of C&H sugar cubes, whining at my parents that I didn’t want to eat any more; they were telling me I had to finish them all. Later the same day, sitting at the dining room table, forcing down ice cream and orange juice and trying not to barf. Oddly enough, I don’t remember the events that led to the sugar-eating, although they included having my stomach pumped. I’m male.
I was only about 14 months old or so and was being fed Gerbers vanilla pudding sitting between my Grandma and my Mother on the steps leading up to Grandma’s house. I’m fairly certain that the scent of the spring air brings this very strong memory back to me. I don’t think I even spoke at that time but the memory is still powerful.
I remember my dad accidently leaving me in the grocery store when I was about 1. I was still strapped into the shopping cart, and I watched him grab the bag from the cart and stroll out the door. One of the cashiers was running after him.
I was running in the house in feetie pajamas and slipped on the hardwood floor and fell and got up and kept on running. We moved from that house when I was 3, so anywhere from 2 to 3 years old.
I’m female
My earliest clear memory is from when I was about two, and had a case of croup. I remember Mom holding me, and I couldn’t stop coughing.
I also have a memory of lying in my room one night, and Dad came in and looked at me for a while before leaving again. It’s filed in my memory banks as being Dad’s last night in the house before the divorce, but it could have been any night at all, or a composite of multiple nights. That may or may not be earlier than the coughing.
I’d been asleep in the car driving to somewhere (I think it was a lake cabin that the family had rented, or something, but I learned that from asking my mom about it in high school). My parents woke me up to take me inside. All I can really remember is how damn bright the lights were. I couldn’t see a damn thing, but my family insisted that I open presents (that I couldn’t even see) right then anyway. One of the gifts, the only one I remember, was a giant teddy bear. It was really soft, so I could cuddle with it even if I couldn’t see it (did I mention it was bright?).
And that’s it. I don’t have any more memories until kindergarden (age 5).
Around 4. Was at the babysitters house. My sister and I were playing in the dirt and I remember a guy across the street brought us chips and a drink. Learned later on she and I were playing out there in the heat for a while and the guy was worried the babysitter wasn’t feeding us.
I have vague memories of having a slinky and wanting to show it to my dad. My mom made me take it to the bathroom to show him - he was in the bathtub. Mom and dad divorced when I was 4, so this would have been before age 4.
I’d swear I saw JFK’s assassination on TV through the slats of my crib…I would have been less than a year old. Nah, couldn’t have been
A friend of mine said his daughter remembered being born. She provided her parents with details that they never told her (“It was so dry!”). At the time of the recollection, she was under ten years old.
I remember my 3rd birthday party. I remember quite a few things from when I was 3, such as visiting my grandmother’s house before she moved out of it. I also remember watching the first moon landing on TV. I was 3 1/2 for that. I don’t remember anything that I can conclusively date as being prior to my 3rd birthday.
Already outlined my earliest upthread, but thought I’d mention this next one…
You often see women bring their very young sons into the women’s bathroom or locker room or such. My mom did just that with me from the ages of c. 2 to 4, thinking (like most parents) that their son would be too young to be aware of the female nudity. Except that I was most certainly aware-bushes and tits galore. I just hope I wasn’t too obvious when I was looking at it all-hate to think I embarrassed someone.
My family lived in an apartment when I was born, and moved out when I was 18 months. I remember that there was a greenhouse across the street. Between the sidewalk and the greenhouse was a pond containing very large goldfish. There was a stone path across the pond. I was being pushed in a wicker stroller (hey, it was the 40s) along the path, and looked at the goldfish on both sides.
I have a very brief memory fragment that’s earlier, concerning my father.
My very earliest memory is that of my aunt looking up at me. I think that I may have been in a playpin.
My next earliest memory is that of a babysitter arguing with me while she was trying to dress me. I wanted to put my shirt onto my lower half (the legs fit), but why couldn’t I wear my pants on my upper half? She asked me where would my head would go. I couldn’t answer.
Also about that time, Liberace had a tv show. I had a toy piano. I used to try to imitate his playing, much to my grandparents’ enjoyment.
I have flashes of memory from earlier but my first coherent complete memory is a family holiday, running ahead to the sand, going face first into the beach and then being dunked in the sea to get the grit out from under my eyelids. I was somewhere between 1 and 2 and toddling. My parents confirmed it happened as I remembered.
I have two I’ll mention, since I’m not sure that the first one isn’t just a memory of a memory, or a dream of said memory.
18 months old : I remember being in a store where my uncles got their Malamute. No one else in the family remembers it, and the memory is very static, and childlike (to me) in that everyone was in a specific place, and the dog was on the counter to be rung up. This is what makes me believe this is a later re-imagining of that event.
This one I’m positive of : 2 years, and about 5 months…we went to buy our new Subaru Station wagon. I very cleary remember the salesman (Balding, fluffy grey hair only on the sides) and the building. I remembered it to the point that when we drove by it when I was 18, I pointed it out to my parents, who confirmed that it was exactly the place.
