Most of you know that I spend a lot of time away from Caroline because of my more than full time job in PR. There are days when it doesn’t get to me as much because I’m either zooming around like a chicken with its head cut off or typing frantically behind a computer for hours on end and know that I’d be a TV-loving mom that day anyway. But then, there are days like today (Saturday) where I’m away from my little lady and I’m a little lonely.
When I have these lonely days and Facetime certainly becomes an overused feature on my phone, I am forced to think about the impact I am having on Caroline and if she will remember that for the first two-three years of her life mommy worked her hiney off and saw her 50% of the time. I’m thinking no, but of course, I did a little bit of searching and learned the following (which I found to be interesting).
1. Children have the capability of remembering things from 18 months on. This will explain why your little one will cry when s/he goes looking for a certain toy and it’s not there, but s/he remembers putting it there.
2. There is a time period often called “infantile amnesia” that lasts between ages 2 and 5 where while children are capable of remembering things, they truly don’t. They do, however, “remember” things based on photos and the repeating of stories. For example: You may recall a story of you riding a pony at your grandma’s house when you were three, but the likelihood that you actually remember the event is slim. You likely have that memory because people have told you the story or you’ve seen photos.
3. IF you are one of those people that “remembers” something from when you were less than 18 months old, the odds are that it is smell-triggered. Going back to the grandma anaology if you remember a Christmas with your family or something it is likely because there was a distinct smell that day.
So what’s the verdict, folks? My daughter will not have mommy issues from me being a workaholic for a few years–she’s gonna be okay! Wahoo.
What’s your earliest memory?
