5 Important Childhood Memories for Your Little Ones
Memories from our childhood help us create a mental photo album of important life experiences. Discovering what childhood memories are key will help us offer our little ones the best support they need for their development.
We all have moments that we treasure from our childhood. We store scenes that, for one reason or another, signify a before and after point in our lives. This collection of memories includes good times and bad, exciting moments, and scary ones as well.
But one thing is clear: They’re part of our life story. And they’re part of what we’ll use to create our own particular personalities .
There are 5 basic pillars that make up our childhood memories. They serve as a guide about how the world is and how we fit into it.
Our time as children marks a crucial stage in our lives, and the creation of meaningful memories will be constant during these years.
Creating key memories for children
Play
We all know the importance of play in our children’s development. But playing without little ones isn’t just a tool in their development – it’s an opportunity to enjoy and relax together.
Teaching your children how to play games in early infancy will help them know the different roles of parents and children. It will also aid in their learning of values, the adherence to social norms, and problem-solving strategies.
Children store memories of what they play during childhood, and with whom they play.
Children learn to manage their own emotions by observing how we manage our own. We must help them manage their emotions rather than repress them. To face their feelings rather than run from them.
As adults, we look back and see who was with us when we were sad. We remember who helped us deal with our anger. And we remember who was proud of us when we made a big achievement.
These are all lessons on emotional management that we learn through our memories. This is the emotional bond that we innately form with our children. It’s a bond that we must consciously protect and nurture.
“There were times when, in the silence of the night, all his memories swept over him with the poignancy of a song of childhood.”
-Antonie de Saint-Exupéry-
Social skills
Family is a child’s first social context. We go out into the world with the social skills that our family taught us at home. Things like asking for permission or forgiveness, saying I love you, listening to others… The learning continues as children interact in different contexts.
For example, gatherings with extended family, going to the supermarket, playing at the park, etc. These experiences turn into memories that have a defining role in children’s social development.
Autonomy
Being able to do things on our own, remembering who taught us how to get back up when we fall… This is autonomy.
The memories of the times we were allowed to think, decide and be ourselves accompany us into adulthood. We become people with extraordinary abilities to obtain what we want.
Perhaps these memories remain hidden, but their consequences, in the long run, are very important in our adult lives.
Love
Perhaps the most important and powerful memories we have are of the love we felt in our childhood. Expressing and receiving love is something we come to know first and foremost in our family. Therefore, as parents, we should be attentive and remind our children about the meaning of love.
We are their models of love: Among partners, siblings, parents and children. Our children will remember the demonstrations of love that they see in their home. In turn, they’ll demonstrate and receive love in the way they were taught during childhood.
Mistakes, fears, and failures also make up part of our little one’s childhood (and life). Therefore, it’s important to take advantage of these 5 pillars so that your children will be prepared to face and manage them.
We can’t control what things our children remember, and that might just be the best part. We don’t know what things today will be important for them tomorrow. We can only offer them a wide range of experiences that will help them face life, and enjoy it.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Manzanero, A. L., & Barón, S. (2014). Características de las memorias en niños preescolares: obtención y evaluación de sus recuerdos. https://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/26614/
- Jack, F., Simcock, G., & Hayne, H. (2012). Magic memories: Young children’s verbal recall after a 6‐year delay. Child Development, 83(1), 159-172. https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01699.x
- Justel, N., Psyrdellis, M., & Ruetti, E. (2013). Modulación de la memoria emocional: una revisión de los principales factores que afectan los recuerdos. Suma psicológica, 20(2), 163-174. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1342/134229985003.pdf