Come and see what good things you did before the age of 3!

Do you remember what happened before you were 3 years old?

Most people learn about their memories before the age of three from their parents’ mouths after they grow up.

I took a taxi a few days ago and met an interesting fast driver.

During the chat, I learned that he is the father of a 2-year-old child. Because his family is not well off, he has to drive until very late every day to earn money for milk powder for his child.

However, during these two periods, the child was asleep. He was afraid of disturbing the child, so he could only quietly walk to the child, kiss the forehead, and then turn away regretfully.

He sighed and said, "I have always felt guilty. From the day my child was born to now, I have hardly been with him completely. Moreover, I am busier than before. My child is growing up day by day. Will he become more and more unfamiliar with me? I heard that children have no memory before the age of 3. I don't know if it is true."

According to relevant statistics,

Most people have no memory of what happened before the age of 3. Even if they know, it was their parents who told them.

Is this really the case?

Memory expert Carolyn Roy Collier once said:

Infants and young children have the ability to remember. Memories formed before the age of 3 will be deeply buried in the memory and serve as the foundation for our later development of thinking and language abilities.

In fact, we have the ability to remember from the moment we are born.

The first time being hugged by mom and dad

When we are held in our parents' arms for the first time, our mother's voice and smell will be remembered by us.

At 3 months old

We can accurately find our mother or father among a group of people.

9 months later

We can remember some simple actions, such as how mom and dad cook, or how they teach us to play with toys...

Since we already have the ability to remember things from that time on, how do we explain why it is so difficult for us to remember things that happened when we were 3 years old when we grow up?

There are many theories in the medical community about this "childhood amnesia". There are two main explanations that are currently most accepted by the public:

01

Immature cerebral cortex

The baby's cerebral cortex responsible for memory is not fully developed. During the process of brain development, early memories are easily disturbed by new memories, which may replace or block early memories.

Research has also shown that these memories can be revived when specific areas of the cerebral cortex are stimulated or when under hypnosis.

The cerebral cortex is an important part of the human brain that controls memory. From a medical point of view, our cerebral cortex is not fully mature in childhood**. **Therefore, it means that our memory ability is not that good in childhood.

Generally, for babies under 3 years old, "early memories" will be covered by new memories or completely replaced, which will eventually lead to the loss of the baby's memory.

02

Before the age of 3, the child has not yet fully mastered language skills.

Because we have not yet mastered the ability to speak when we are babies, it is difficult to store memories using language. Therefore, early memories are basically stored in non-verbal forms such as actions and pictures.

So, it seems that we have lost the memories before the age of 3. In fact, these memories have always been kept in our subconscious mind, but because we were too young at the time, we were unable to express them in words.

But then again, although we may not have "real memory" in our childhood, the company of our parents is still the most important.

When we grow up, our work and behavior are closely related to the vague memories of our childhood that we can't even remember.

That vague "past" is like the most beautiful and even the most profound memory in our life. It is like a ray of light, inconspicuous, but whenever we fall into "darkness", it will give us the greatest warmth and motivation, leading us to move forward.

Author: Zhibai

Source: Doctor Youlai