The answer begins with how the brain develops.
Young children are constantly absorbing information, but the systems responsible for organizing and storing long-term autobiographical memories are still under construction during the first few years of life. As a result, experiences may be emotionally meaningful in the moment without becoming permanent memories that can easily be recalled decades later.
Language also plays an important role.
As children grow, they become better at turning experiences into stories they can tell themselves and others. Before those storytelling abilities develop, many experiences remain difficult to preserve in a way that adults can later access.
The YouGov research also suggests another factor many people overlook. Memories
are not always built entirely from personal experience.
Among Americans who say they have a first memory, 26% believe it is at least somewhat likely that what they remember has been influenced by photographs, home videos, or stories told by family members over the years. Older Americans tended to express greater confidence that their earliest memories truly belonged to them rather than being reconstructed from outside sources.
