Why Can’t I Remember My Childhood?

Key Takeaways

• Childhood amnesia means it’s normal not to remember events from ages 0 to 3.
• The hippocampus, where memories are stored, develops throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Our early childhood experiences shape our self-concept and engagement with the world. These memories are key to our identity development as we move into adulthood. As a therapist, I often help clients reflect on their past, as the past helps us understand the present. But what happens if a client can’t remember their childhood?

There’s a common misconception that trauma is the main cause of childhood amnesia. A logical assumption but is completely unfounded. There are many reasons why one might not remember their childhood, from the complexities of brain development to a lack of social experiences.

If you’re worried about not remembering your childhood—and what possibly caused it—read on to learn more about childhood amnesia, how memory is developed throughout childhood, what causes these struggles with memory, and how to cope with the lost memories.  

Childhood Amnesia

Childhood amnesia, also known as infantile amnesia, refers to the inability of adults to retrieve early childhood memories. It’s completely normal to not remember episodic experiences that occurred from ages 0 to 3 and have a sparse selection of memories that occurred before age 10. Unlike “normal” adult memory loss where you forget small details over time, this memory recollection cannot be attributed to time passing.

Normal Memory Development in Childhood

Remember, it is natural not to remember everything from your youth. A study found that it is common for children to misestimate the ages their memories occurred as they grow up. For example, they might remember a particular play date but will state it happened over a year later than it did.

Part of what can cause normal memory loss is the development of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a region of the brain which is particularly important in the formations of memories of events that happened to us. It is also one of the unique regions of the brain that continues to produce new neurons into adulthood.

One hypothesis about why early memories are not remembered is that as these rapidly growing new neurons in childhood get integrated into brain circuits, they disrupt earlier networks of memories.

Another factor that is thought to play a role in infantile amnesia posits that these early memories are not completely gone, but that they are stored in a form that is not able to be retrieved explicitly later in our lives.

Reasons Why You Might Not Remember Your Childhood

Episodic or autobiographical memories are typically stored in the hippocampus-dependent learning and memory system. That’s not the case for certain traumatic memories, where the hippocampus may be bypassed, engaging different areas of the brain making these memories more difficult to retrieve.

Childhood amnesia can also be caused by genetic mutations that deteriorate the hippocampus. Studies report that a gene mutation or cellular alteration can dysregulate the development of the hippocampus and lead to rapid memory loss.

How to Cope With Childhood Memory Loss

Not being able to recall your childhood memories may be concerning. It is important to recognize that aspect of this are expectable. However if this is causing you significant distress, it might be a good idea to seek out psychotherapy. A therapist can help you better understand and work through what this might reflect.

If there are aspects of this that relate to early trauma, there are therapies that can help in processing this such as eye movement and desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) and other trauma focused psychotherapies.

The inability to remember parts of your life can feel scary. Our past inevitably informs our present, and being unable to recall your past fully can leave you wondering if you’re missing out on understanding key parts of yourself. Some of these types of memory gaps are normal parts of brain development.

But if there are significant memory gaps that may be related to childhood trauma—it may be time to seek support. A therapist is a great place to start. If you sense there’s a medical issue causing your memory loss, give your doctor a call.

There are activities that we can focus on in the present that help us make positive memories, including being intentional and mindful with your time and taking photos or keeping a journal. It can all add up to a vault of memories you can cherish now and forever.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Wang Q, Peterson C. The fate of childhood memories: children postdated their earliest memories as they grew older. Front Psychol. 2016;6:2038. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02038

2. Queensland Brain Institute. Why you can’t remember being a baby.

3. medweb. How traumatic memories hide in the brain, and how to retrieve them. News Center.

4. Alberini, C. M., & Travaglia, A. (2017). Infantile amnesia: A critical period of learning to learn and remember. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(24), 5783–5795.

5. Gainer D, Alam S, Alam H, Redding H. A flash of hope: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (Emdr) therapy. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. 2020;17(7-9):12-20.

By Julia Childs Heyl, MSW

Julia Childs Heyl, MSW, is a clinical social worker and writer. As a writer, she focuses on mental health disparities and uses critical race theory as her preferred theoretical framework. In her clinical work, she specializes in treating people of color experiencing anxiety, depression, and trauma through depth therapy and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) trauma therapy.

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