To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 04:03:25 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] remembering childhood
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

On Tue, 15 Apr 2003 23:52:08 -0400 (EDT) "Keith F. Lynch"
<kfl at KeithLynch.net> writes:
> "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net> wrote:
> > ... unlike most adults, I retain a firm grip on my childhood
> > memories and I can recall my thoughts of that time in my life, as
> > well as remembering the many and varied conversations I had with
> my
> > peers as preschoolers.
>
> Doesn't everyone?  My memories go back to age 19 months.  Probably
> further, but I didn't have much sense of time at the time.

This might be a good opportunity to take an informal unscientific poll
among this list of the age of earliest memory, and the related matter of
the sense of time at a very young age.  For me, the earliest memories are
from age 3 years, and memories are sparse before age 5.  I know that my
sense of time was not well developed even at age 5, because at that age I
once asked how long a 'week' is, after being told that an anticipated
event would happen in 'two weeks'.  So I would put the age at which I
developed a sense of time as age 5 years, since after I got an
explanation of what a 'week' is, I did grasp the concept.

After a dozen or more have responded, after allowing, say, five days for
responses, perhaps the listmaster could tabulate the results so we may
get an idea of the average, median, and range.

Respondents should try to avoid counting 'implanted' memories as actual
memories.  Many people have extensively discussed with their parents,
older siblings, etc. what they were doing at age 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and
been shown piles of family photos documenting their early years, so what
they remember might in some cases be what they were told to remember.

To make things more interesting let's throw in the ages at which we
attended the first birthday party remembered, whether our own birthday,
or that of a contemporary child, and the age at which we first went
'trick-or-treating' on Halloween.  For me, both would be about age 5
years.

Summarizing:

earliest memories:   age 3 years
first sense of time: age 5 years
first b'day party:   age 5 years
first Halloween:     age 5 years

Ron Kean

.

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