Most people can remember moments from childhood, but memories of their earliest years are usually missing. Many adults cannot recall their first birthday, first steps or the period when they were learning to speak. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as infantile amnesia.
It does not mean babies are unable to learn or remember. Research suggests that infants can form memories, but the systems involved in storing and retrieving long-lasting autobiographical memories are still developing during the first years of life.
The brain is still developing
The hippocampus, a brain region strongly associated with memory formation, continues developing during infancy and early childhood. As the brain matures, the way memories are organised and stored also changes.
Young children can learn familiar faces, recognise places and develop skills, even if those experiences do not remain accessible as detailed memories decades later.
Language may play an important role
Another explanation involves language. Personal memories are often connected to words, stories and a sense of self. Babies have not yet developed the language abilities needed to describe and organise experiences in the same way older children and adults do.
As children acquire language, they gradually become better able to construct and retain autobiographical memories that can later be recalled.
Why some memories remain
People generally begin reporting more consistent autobiographical memories from around the age of three or four, although the exact timing varies. Some researchers suggest that memories from this period can also change as the brain develops and as later experiences reshape how earlier events are understood.
Scientists continue to study infantile amnesia because understanding early memory development may offer broader insights into how human memory, identity and learning evolve.
So, while we may not remember being babies, our earliest years are far from being empty of learning. They form an important foundation for the people we eventually become.