Tot recall: Our memories go back as far as 2

For many people, that terrifying first day of school may be seared into their memory well into adulthood – and for some it may even be the earliest recollection that comes to mind.

But adults can recall childhood memories from when they were as young as two, research suggests. Several studies had put the average age of someone’s first memory at three or four. But in a study involving almost 500 adults and children, who were given four minutes to list as many preschool memories as they could, they were on average able to recall a memory from the age of almost two-and-a-half. When 175 adults were asked to name their first memory, about a third later recalled ones from an average of 16 months earlier.

Dr Carole Peterson, from Memorial University of Newfoundland, analysed 21 years of her laboratory’s research on childhood memories, involving almost 1,000 people.

She said: ‘Many experts believe there is a watershed memory, a first memory, before which there are no memories. But our research suggests it is relatively easy to get people to recall memories from earlier than their “first” memory. That means there is probably in fact a pool of potential early memories which people select from.’

The research, published in the journal Memory, found the average person can name a memory from the age of 29 months. Similarly, in a recent study in the same journal, when 175 adults were asked to list their first memory followed by four other early memories, 38 per cent came up with one older than their ‘first’.

researchers stress the age of two is an average and some may remember earlier memories, while others have no memory of anything before their first day of school.

Dr Peterson said: ‘It’s very easy to get people to remember earlier memories simply by asking them what their earliest memory is, and then asking them for a few more. It’s like priming a pump – once you get them started it’s self-prompting.’