In my story, the plot (so far) demands that I portray several key events from a four-year-old's perspective. I want her memories of the happenings to be realistic, yet vivid. So...
What are the nature of your memories, from when you were three, four, or five years old? As in, what things stuck in your young mind, and what things escaped your notice?
I think in my early memories, I remember the interactions; both with adults speaking directly to me, and with my peers. I remember fleeting moments; brief vivid sight pictures.
Share! What kind of things do you remember?
Or do you know more about child psychology than I do, and can give me tips?

A lot of strong emotions often come back to me when I remember things from when I was little. Often my memories of when I was very young are hazy, and ofttimes I remember things a little different to what actually happened. My early memories are like a photo album; with no actual remembrance of what happened, but pictures of where I've been and what happened behind those pictures. I don't know if this helps you any, it sounds kind of complicated!

It makes me sad sometimes how little I remember from my childhood. I think I remember things, then realize it's probably just from looking at photo albums.

One way you might "get into the mind of a child" is from interacting with children that age and seeing what they remember from their day or week. They're probably going to remember things that are not normal.
My three-year old nephew would remember the tractors and trains he saw - his interests.
This is interesting to think about!

All my memories from my childhood seem sort of like dreams. I can see the images and hear the voices, but all the sounds seem far off and everything seems so big compared to me. Probably because everything was so big compared to me.

I remember the smell of the clay pots right before my Mom and I baked cupcakes in them.

I remember the absolute TERROR when I thought my Mom and Dad were going to leave me home by myself. (they weren't. )

I remember sliding into a ditch and getting wet and being miserable.

I remember the colors in my favorite swimsuit.

I remember the dog that lived next door and how much I loved that dog. He was a dalmatian and yeah....

I could go on, but yeah. Usually it's the little things like how pretty something is, or how good something smells, or just the feeling you get. There's a lot less verbage involved.

Willow, your post was awesome. And I think it's probably very accurate as to what small children do remember, because when I have read stories about someone that young it seems to be like that.

I remember mostly images. Scenes, small clips of bigger events. I lived in a different house until I was four then I did for the rest of my childhood, so I can divide my memories by location. I can barely remember the house. Just a couple of parts. I've never been back; I don't know if I would remember more if I saw it again or not. My mom is constantly correcting my guesses as to what the rest of the house looked like. Most of my memories are somehow associated with that house, I guess because it's something I can connect them to so they aren't forgotten. Most of them are also connected to an older sister I had once.

I remember the day my sister Bethany was born, when I was 4. I remember when I got up my grandma was there instead of my parents. And I remember it was late at night when they came home with the baby. I can still see them, almost... I remember going to see plays. We saw Cinderella, and the fairy godmother was played by a guy, which I thought was really odd and no one would explain to me. And then later we were reenacting the play and I was Cinderella, but I couldn't fake cry realistically. Later I didn't get my way over something and was crying and she told me I'd make a fine Cinderella now. I don't remember what I was crying over, but I've never forgotten and when I'm upset over not getting my way it sometimes comes back to me and I end up analyzing exactly what I'm doing and how I feel so I can duplicate it when I'm acting.

I remember a lot more after that. I remember my first cat, I remember my sister leaving, I remember moving... I think I was about six. So my vaguest memories were from before I was 4, and then a bit from before I was 6, and then after that it's a lot clearer. If I even have my dates right, which may be wrong.

A big part of my childhood memories is that I can't keep timelines straight. Another thing my mom's always correcting. I get people mixed up because they all looked the same. I'm always putting things in the wrong order. And there's a lot that I don't know if they're true memories or whether I picked them up from photo albums and the stories I've been told. If I were writing a story of my childhood a lot of it would start with "I was always told that I..."

Aemi,
I live with a four-year old! If you want you can run some perspective and/or dialogue through me (via PM) and I can see if it seems like a four-year old. Or I can just ask him how he perceives things (that would be an interesting conversation )
Ana

I love reading all these childhood memories. The simplest things become so sweet when seen through the eyes of a child.


I remember the frustration I had when I first was learning how to ride a bicycle. I must have rolled down the same slope by our house a million times. I can remember this, but I can't remember when I eventually worked it out.

I can remember the blue sky rippling as greenish water closed over my head when I almost drowned and Dad had to rescue me whilst we were swimming at a lake.

I can remember my short self peering up at the flowers Dad was buying at the florist for Mum when my new baby brother was born, and the first taste of custard I had when we visited the hospital.

I remember how many tries it took me to learn how to write my name; the frustration that no matter how I tried, it was always wrong: every letter mirrored and the entire name spelled backwards.

I remember learning how to read when I was four and a half. I remember sitting at the table, learning to read from my mom teaching me from Alpha Phonics.

I remember dressing up for Easter when I was five or six and holding my favorite doll. My mother took a picture and in the picture, my cat Stormy was rubbing around my legs.

I remember going to vacation Bible school when I was three and then I went just about every year from then on. I remember my VBS teacher.

I also remember playing with dolls and my little play kitchen set.

I also remember when my mom and dad and I would go over to my grandpa's house. It was important because it was at least a 30 minute ride and we only went every month or two.

I learned to ride a bicycle when I was about five or six, and I remember learning in my uncle's driveway. I remember pushing myself on my bicycle with my feet when I was four or five.

Thanks for your offer, Ana. I actually have a sister who turned five recently, but I still might need my memory refreshed sometimes.

These memories are very interesting. I am definitely getting some ideas.
I also have trouble keeping my time line straight, but I have a lot of memories of kindergarten.
I remember when I was four, my younger sister was born. I remember Mommy being pregnant, and then one night my grandparents coming over. I remember driving to the birth center, and, while we were sitting in the McDonald's drive-through, (my other sister and I were in the backseat) Meme got the call that my sister had been born. Then I remember the midwife coming out to meet us, but I don't actually remember the first sight of the baby. I do remember the twin dolls that Meme gave us then.
Come to think of it, I have lots of memories from when I was four. I remember quite clearly the house that we lived in, and the backyard.

Aw, memories...so sweet, yet so bitter at times. ^^

I remember a lot of things from my childhood. Whenever I'm not speaking I'm churning over my memories and digging up forgotten ones. (This doesn't include the many other things I think about, of course.)

My earliest memories are from when I was 2 years old. We were living in Texas and I remember my dad getting up in the morning to give me a strawberry Poptart. I also remember when we moved from TX. I was sitting in the moving truck and began coloring with my Pocahontas color markers. I specifically remember using a yellow/orange with a picture of the Indian princess on it.

I don't remember dialog so much from that time unless I was in trouble. (Like getting spankings.) I remember weather, people, interactions, smells, and sometimes taste. I also remember lots of emotions from that time. Dreams from my childhood are also something I can pick up again. Such as one I recall from Kindergarten.

I would go further on that, but I can drag up a lot of memories.

I will give you some advice on what I remember from being a child.

-Grown ups were boring and only talked. Nothing they said really grabbed my attention unless I was part of the subject.

-When I wanted to ask a question, I wanted an answer immediately whether my parents were speaking to someone or not.

-Little things really interested me such as lizards, salamanders, ants, flies, and animals in general.

-I was greedy. When I saw a new Barbie, I really wanted it.

-Sweets were my best friends. I had a high tolerance for sugar and could eat volumes without feeling ill. (Unfortunately, that isn't the case anymore.)

-As much as I thought grown ups were boring, I wanted the attention of them and to be like them. I wanted to be tall, wear high heels, have them interested in what I was speaking about, and have them praise me.

-Monsters were real. My imagination was incredibly alive as a child. Monsters under the bed, ghouls coming out of the shadows, the whole shibang. When I was playing Barbies, house, or role playing, I could practically see the story unfolding before my eyes.

-I vividly remember scary things that happened to me like getting tangled in my bedsheets or throwing up.

That's it for now. ^^ I hope this was helpful to you!

~Calen