Raleigh News & Observer Logo

A Claptrap Memory, but for How Long? | Raleigh News & Observer

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Sponsorships
    • Stay connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Social Media Directory
    • N&O Store
    • Buy Photos
    • Databases
    • Archives
    • Newsletters

    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Health
    • Local
    • North Carolina
    • Nation/World
    • Science
    • Thumbs Up
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • All News
    • Counties
    • Durham County
    • Johnston County
    • Orange County
    • Wake County
    • All Sports
    • Baseball
    • Canes
    • College
    • Columns & Blogs
    • High Schools
    • NASCAR & Auto Racing
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • NHL
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Panthers
    • Soccer
    • Schools
    • Duke
    • East Carolina
    • NC State
    • North Carolina
    • All Politics
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • State Politics
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • PolitiFact
    • PolitiFact NC
    • Rob Christensen
    • Under the Dome
    • All Business
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Health Care
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Shop Talk
    • Stocks Center
    • Technology
    • All Living
    • Video Now
    • Best-Kept Secrets
    • Blogs
    • Celebrations
    • Comics
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Games and Puzzles
    • Home and Garden
    • Horoscopes
    • Mouthful
    • Past Times
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Video Now
    • Arts News
    • ArtsNow
    • Books
    • Contests
    • Dining
    • Entertainment
    • Games
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Television
    • On the Beat
    • Happiness is a Warm TV
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Dwane Powell
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Letters
    • Opinion Shop Blog
    • Other Views
    • Submit a Letter
  • Obituaries

    • Advertise with us
    • Place Ad
    • Apartments
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Jobs
    • Legals
    • Obits/In Memoriams
    • Weddings
    • Today's Daily Deal
    • Special Sections
    • Today's Circulars
    • Rewards
    • Photo Store
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Legals

Moms

A Claptrap Memory, but for How Long?

Stacy Chandler

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 10, 2014 12:01 AM

NPR aired an interesting piece this week about new research on childhood memories — why we remember what we remember about childhood, and why we forget so much as we get older. “Childhood amnesia” is actually a thing — most adults don’t remember much from their earliest years, say, before age 3. I know I don’t.

 

I have a terrible memory in general, short-term and long-term. I can’t remember four things to pick up at the store without a written list, and I can’t remember how I met most of my friends. I’ve tried to figure out what my earlier childhood memory is, but I’ve never really been able come up with it. And then you have to ask yourself what’s really a memory, and what’s a story your parents told you, maybe backed up by a photograph?

 

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Nora, on the other hand, at age 4 remembers everything. The other day, as we walked the dog through the neighborhood, she casually pointed out a spot — an exact spot — on the road where she fell and skinned her knees when she was tiny. I can’t remember (of course I can’t!) how old she was exactly, but I do know she was just really getting the hang of walking, so she was definitely well shy of her second birthday, maybe 15-18 months old. She’ll randomly recite passages from books we borrowed from the library more than a year ago, and she remembers in great detail the time two years ago when our dog ate Daddy’s birthday cake (now THAT one I haven’t forgotten either).

 

One day, of course, she’ll forget most of that. It’s easy to be sad about that, to heave a sigh over her losing moments of her childhood, good and bad. But it’s comforting to think of it as a function of growing up and having those old memories replaced by new — and hopefully positive — ones. That’s not exactly how the science works, I know. But just let me have that, OK?

 

The good news is that studies have found that parents play a big role in what kids remember, not surprisingly. When parents can fill in the gaps of a child’s vague impression or extrapolate from what they’re seeing in a photo, those memories tend to stick. Think of all the stories your family tells over and over again about the time you did … whatever. Sure, a lot of the images and emotions that pop into your brain are what have sprouted there because of the storytelling, but you can tell when there’s a spark of firsthand recognition there. Maybe you don’t remember every second of that family trip to the beach, but you sure do remember when your toe got pinched by a crab, or when you got to peel your own shrimp at dinner.

So we probably won’t be rehashing that first skinned knee incident — it was traumatic for all of us. But I hope to do my best to make my poor memory hold onto some of the highlights, so I can keep them alive in Nora’s brain, which hopefully has much more storage capacity than mine in her childhood and beyond.

  Comments  

Videos

Crossfit trainer is 9 months pregnant and still lifting 205 pounds

White House says Zika is worse than previously thought

View More Video

Read Next

NC leaders change law that had kept stillborn fetuses from being cremated together

Local

NC leaders change law that had kept stillborn fetuses from being cremated together

By Martha Quillin

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 28, 2018 12:40 PM

An Apex couple who had been forbidden from having their twin fetuses cremated together wanted to save other grieving families in North Carolina from facing the same situation.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE MOMS

This NC woman is pregnant and past due. Watch as she tries to dance her baby out.

Local

This NC woman is pregnant and past due. Watch as she tries to dance her baby out.

June 19, 2018 09:20 PM
A school crossing guard warms hearts handing out coats for students

Local

A school crossing guard warms hearts handing out coats for students

December 09, 2017 02:48 PM
This mom’s adopted daughters challenged her evangelical ideas – and a parenting book was born

Books

This mom’s adopted daughters challenged her evangelical ideas – and a parenting book was born

September 08, 2017 10:32 AM
Hey, Moms! What do you want to do for Mother’s Day?

Food & Drink

Hey, Moms! What do you want to do for Mother’s Day?

May 01, 2017 01:08 PM
UNC pediatrician: It’s risky for a woman other than the mother to breastfeed a baby

Chapel Hill News

UNC pediatrician: It’s risky for a woman other than the mother to breastfeed a baby

February 08, 2017 04:41 PM
Orange County mom makes minivan her palette

Chapel Hill News

Orange County mom makes minivan her palette

November 11, 2016 12:40 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Raleigh News & Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Triangletoday.com
  • Legal Notices
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Our Ads
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • N&O Store
  • N&O Photos
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Report News
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use


Back to Story