what will your bunch remember?

One of the most frequent questions we are asked (besides questions regarding sleep, eating, strollers and gear) is about how to get Big Baby ready for Little Baby. There are a million and one books and tips out there for getting a child who is less than 2 ready for the next sibling. But really we must admit a two quick things on that matter 1) nothing will really prepare anyone in the household for what is about to ensue 2) your Big Baby will never remember life without Little Baby in it.

So where am I going with this post, you might ask. Well, as I flipped through my Wall Street Journal this morning an article about our earliest memories as kids caught my eye.  According to this, most people can't recall anything that happened before the age of 3 or 4. (It probably makes sense as I can't, but still makes me a bit sad.) Not only will your Big Baby never remember life without Little Baby, but apparently all the other activities that send us spinning in so many directions and the memories we try to create for our kids, could go MIA as well.

Here's what the WSJ article said:  

Researchers asked 140 children, aged between 4 and 13, to describe their three earliest memories, and repeated the exercise two years later with the same children. On average, the 50 youngest children, aged 4 to 6 during the first interview, recalled events from when they were barely 2 years old, as verified by their parents. When they were interviewed two years later, only five of those 50 children mentioned the same earliest memory. By contrast, 22 of the 61 children who were 10 to 13 at the first interview were able to mention the same earliest memory when they were interviewed again two years later.

The article isn't all gloom and doom, but it did provide prospective and definitely made me want to drive home some of the big event s and take more photos to help create the memory later in life.

I know there is more to daily parenting than just trying to make them remember kindergarten field day when they are 18. Obviously, we are rearing children and everything along the way is cumulative and they grow from the experiences, as do we. They may not remember that field day, but they will remember for a few years what happened and that I was there. And that creates of sense of self and a sense of who we as parents. But I must admit the article did just make me slump down a bit in my seat to think that from this amazing weekend we had just had filled with festivals, parties and the pool, each of my child might possibly remember one iota of the weekend (if that at all because I took no photos.)

We'd love to hear your reaction on this article and what you do to help create memories for your kids.

Comments

[Erin]

I don't remember anything before age 4-5 so I agree with the conclusions of this study. However, I don't think that means we as parents shouldn't try to give our children as many varied experiences and create as many traditions and memories as possible because everything they experience in the early years will help shape them regardless of if they can recall any of it.
I take a lot of pictures, not only of special events but of the every day as well so my boys will be able to see how we spent our days. I also keep pretty detailed baby books for each child with funny anecdotes, milestones and more mundane details as well so they will be able to look back and read about how they were as small children. We really try to expose our children to a lot of different places, people, and experiences and as a result, I would say they are very well-adjusted, well-rounded kids for age 1 and 2. On the other hand, a lot of every day life is very repetitious in hopes that they will be able to recall some of the activities and routines we had when they were little. Sure, some days it is discouraging to think that all my efforts won't even be remembered, but then again, a lot of what I do is as much for my memories as it is for theirs, so that alone makes it all worth it.

[Jessica Harris]

My boys are 17 months apart. It makes me a little sad that my oldest won't remember a time when it was just us :-( It was such a special time for me and my husband. Of course having a second baby is special too... but I think the oldest is so lucky to get to be the only child for a short time- and they won't even remember it.