Health · Medical Research · 14 hrs ago
Why siblings can remember their childhoods differently
A 34-year-old woman remembers many details of her childhood, including family trips and baking with her mother.
Her older brother remembers little of some of the same experiences, which she finds sad.
Siblings can remember shared events differently because they may have been different ages or seen an event as more or less important.
Most adults recall few personal memories from their first three or four years, a pattern known as childhood amnesia.
Young children can form memories, but brain development, language and a growing sense of self affect how experiences are stored and recalled later.
Gaps in childhood memory do not by themselves point to trauma, though one woman in the story was told an accident might be linked to her memory gaps.
Photos and family stories can shape early memories, so some recollections may not come from direct memory alone.
Siblings who grow up together can remember the same childhood events differently because they may experience them at different ages and see them in different ways.
Rahel Bachem, a professor of clinical psychology, says an event that is significant to one child may seem unimportant to another.
Most adults have few personal memories from their first three to four years, a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia.
Memory gaps do not by themselves indicate trauma, and early memories can be shaped by family stories and photographs.
M., 34, remembers many childhood experiences, while her older brother recalls little of some events they shared.
- Who
- Siblings who remember shared childhoods differently, including M. and her older brother.
- What
- The article explains why childhood memories vary between siblings and why early memories may be missing.
- When
- The article was published on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Children may experience the same events at different ages and interpret them differently; memory and development also affect what can later be recalled.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
M. remembers the apartment her family moved out of when she was four.
Drita had an accident; whether it is related to her memory gaps is unclear.
Drita first noticed in conversations how little of her childhood she could recall.
20 Minuten published the article.
- M.
- 34 years old
- M.'s brother
- Her older brother recalls little of some shared experiences.
- Early childhood memories
- Adults usually retain few personal memories from their first three to four years.
- Expert
- Rahel Bachem is a professor of clinical psychology at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences.
- Drita
- 39 years old; she noticed her memory gaps at age 20.
What people are saying
I remember most of it very fondly, too.
What was a key experience for one child was a minor matter for the other.
Our memory is not an archive in which childhood is stored in full.
What I’m missing is the in-between.