At what age do kids remember vacations?
- Thread starter nicolestevens84
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robynyates
New member
@nicolestevens84 Does it matter? You'll remember them and you'll have photographs. We have our years of holiday photos as the screen savers on the Chromecasts in the house and the kids (now 10 and 7) love seeing pictures of holidays they don't remember.
sarahrose22
New member
@nicolestevens84 Age 6-8 is when I can recall family trips.
@nicolestevens84 My 3.5 year old remembers our holiday from when she was 2.5 years old. She surprised us just the other day by recounting a very specific detail which we had both forgotten about.
Will she remember it in another few years - who knows?
We’re planning annual holidays (if possible) since she enjoyed her first holiday so much.
Will she remember it in another few years - who knows?
We’re planning annual holidays (if possible) since she enjoyed her first holiday so much.
nicolestevens84
New member
lourdes_anita
New member
@nicolestevens84 Remember that experiences now will still shape a kid’s personality even if they don’t remember the experience longterm 
@nicolestevens84 Somehow my almost 3 year old can remember trips from 1.5 years ago. I doubt he’ll have any real memories of them in some years though.
That said you’ll still have the memories and even though they won’t remember specifics the improved bond will continue on regardless. IMO don’t sweat them with places like Disney at a super young age since the price is so high but do take them to cheaper places with bigger strokes they’re more likely to remember (if you’re far from the ocean take them to the ocean, same for mountains etc).
Also remember pictures are forever if you take them. Take plenty of photos to commemorate and they’ll be able to look back on you all have a great time together for the rest of their lives.
That said you’ll still have the memories and even though they won’t remember specifics the improved bond will continue on regardless. IMO don’t sweat them with places like Disney at a super young age since the price is so high but do take them to cheaper places with bigger strokes they’re more likely to remember (if you’re far from the ocean take them to the ocean, same for mountains etc).
Also remember pictures are forever if you take them. Take plenty of photos to commemorate and they’ll be able to look back on you all have a great time together for the rest of their lives.
@babyfever This is also my 3.5 year old. She has her mother’s memory and forgets nothing. It’s absolutely wild what she will randomly talk about or bring up sometimes.
kimberlymarie
New member
@babyfever This is actually really common! Kids generally will remember things from 1-2 until they're 4-5 at which point they will start to forget those things and their more permanent first memory is typically around age 3. Some people can remember older memories and some will keep forgetting and only have a first memory of 4-5ish. A surprising number of people will claim to remember things from 1-2 but in many many cases these are completely made up by their brains and never happened at all.
Source - Early development psychology degree (it's finally come in handy for something!)
Source - Early development psychology degree (it's finally come in handy for something!)
@kimberlymarie This totally aligns with both my intuition and direct experience. Thanks for sharing your hard earned and data backed insight so we’ve got something real to go off of here!
Question, the son I mentioned will recall with unbelievable detail sometimes a random interaction with a kid he met at a park months earlier. Is that any indication of how his memory or brain will work in the future? His retention in terms of detail is sometimes mind blowing and I’m just curious if that’s normal or if that’s a trait he’ll carry into adulthood possibly.
Question, the son I mentioned will recall with unbelievable detail sometimes a random interaction with a kid he met at a park months earlier. Is that any indication of how his memory or brain will work in the future? His retention in terms of detail is sometimes mind blowing and I’m just curious if that’s normal or if that’s a trait he’ll carry into adulthood possibly.
kimberlymarie
New member
@babyfever Nope, kids are just sponges for information, their brains are wired to take in and retain everything for the first few years. Over time that will most likely fade to more average retention but you never know!
@nicolestevens84 If you knew you were going to enjoy but then forget the trip some short time afterwards, would you still want to go?
nicolestevens84
New member
@eyeseeyou That’s like a philosophical question. LoL. But I personally would want a core memory to remember in the long run.
@nicolestevens84 We have been going on trips since our kiddo was just over a year. His first trip was a train ride to Liege, Second a flight to Amsterdam, then to London for a friend's wedding, and finally to the west coast of the US to visit Oma and Opa and to Burning Man. All between 1 and 2.
For his second birthday, we went to Paris mostly for us, but on the day of his birthday we went to Disneyland Paris. He then compared it to Burning Man, then we went to Athens. Then covid hit. We were still able to do Talinn, Estonia for my wife's birthday and We did Thessaloniki in October that year.
For his 3rd birthday, we stayed at home because of covid. That summer we went to Prague by train, Paris Disneyland again in the fall and spent most of our time there. He remembered doing stuff in Disney Land when he was 2. Un-fun trip; In early october right as we got back from Paris, we were notificed that a friend had killed herself. We were planning on visiting in late october with said friend. The trip that was supposed to be to see and spend time with her, Ended up being the trip to go to her funeral. Then in December because our yearly passes were expiring we did a quick trip to Disneyland Paris with a couple of friends.
In 2022 for his 4th birthday, we did a small resort near our home town. Tropical Islands which is a cool resort built in a former Zeppelin Hanger He remembered the cake we made and asked for another one just like it for his 5th birthday. We did Porto, Portugal for my birthday in February. In April, we spent 2 weeks in the US because we got hella cheap (like a 900 euro round trip for the 3 of us) and did a big road trip with the grandparents. Went back for Burning Man in August... He remembered leading up to the moving house (we have an RV still in the States for Burning Man) We also did another couple of trips to the UK.
In 2023 we did Disney Land for his 5th birthday, and then did Egypt for my birthday the next month. Went to the Uk for my wife's 40th with friends, then to Burning Man. Also not included are fairly regular hops to London, It is really easy to go there because we have a standing invitation at his uncle's house, so we just need to get there.
So far this year for his 6th Birthday we went to Spain. My son requested Spain, we had friends there so we went and stayed with them. Then I went to Flordia for my birthday, My wife and him went to Ireland and we are all planning another trip in May to the UK and in July to the UK for my wife's birthday.
Not sure how much he remembers He will randomly drop "I have been there!" when he sees stuff in books or online. Of course, the souvenirs which we let him pick he remembers vaguely where we got them, But we sure as fuck remember and we have the google photos accounts of pictures of him sleeping in front of landmarks, or playing around them.
The kid (by our privilege and where we live) has been to more countries in his first 6 years than I have been to before I turned 30. And even then the only countries he hasn't been to that I have been to are Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Japan but we want to do Japan with him.
You asked what age is worth it... I think any age. One of my favourite pictures of us is me walking through Liege with ice cream and him in the baby carrier on my back and we are both SMILING just having a great time.
For his second birthday, we went to Paris mostly for us, but on the day of his birthday we went to Disneyland Paris. He then compared it to Burning Man, then we went to Athens. Then covid hit. We were still able to do Talinn, Estonia for my wife's birthday and We did Thessaloniki in October that year.
For his 3rd birthday, we stayed at home because of covid. That summer we went to Prague by train, Paris Disneyland again in the fall and spent most of our time there. He remembered doing stuff in Disney Land when he was 2. Un-fun trip; In early october right as we got back from Paris, we were notificed that a friend had killed herself. We were planning on visiting in late october with said friend. The trip that was supposed to be to see and spend time with her, Ended up being the trip to go to her funeral. Then in December because our yearly passes were expiring we did a quick trip to Disneyland Paris with a couple of friends.
In 2022 for his 4th birthday, we did a small resort near our home town. Tropical Islands which is a cool resort built in a former Zeppelin Hanger He remembered the cake we made and asked for another one just like it for his 5th birthday. We did Porto, Portugal for my birthday in February. In April, we spent 2 weeks in the US because we got hella cheap (like a 900 euro round trip for the 3 of us) and did a big road trip with the grandparents. Went back for Burning Man in August... He remembered leading up to the moving house (we have an RV still in the States for Burning Man) We also did another couple of trips to the UK.
In 2023 we did Disney Land for his 5th birthday, and then did Egypt for my birthday the next month. Went to the Uk for my wife's 40th with friends, then to Burning Man. Also not included are fairly regular hops to London, It is really easy to go there because we have a standing invitation at his uncle's house, so we just need to get there.
So far this year for his 6th Birthday we went to Spain. My son requested Spain, we had friends there so we went and stayed with them. Then I went to Flordia for my birthday, My wife and him went to Ireland and we are all planning another trip in May to the UK and in July to the UK for my wife's birthday.
Not sure how much he remembers He will randomly drop "I have been there!" when he sees stuff in books or online. Of course, the souvenirs which we let him pick he remembers vaguely where we got them, But we sure as fuck remember and we have the google photos accounts of pictures of him sleeping in front of landmarks, or playing around them.
The kid (by our privilege and where we live) has been to more countries in his first 6 years than I have been to before I turned 30. And even then the only countries he hasn't been to that I have been to are Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Japan but we want to do Japan with him.
You asked what age is worth it... I think any age. One of my favourite pictures of us is me walking through Liege with ice cream and him in the baby carrier on my back and we are both SMILING just having a great time.
nicolestevens84
New member
My wife will be sad. LoL. I think she wants to travel more than me at this point. Before the kids, we did a bit of traveling. Things change I guess. We did take the little ones to Disney World when the kids were 2 & 1. But we all knew it was for her rather than the kids.
@nicolestevens84 Every holiday we take our little one learns a lot, and leaps forwards in development.
Well worth the investment even if the kid doesn't "remember". We do.
Well worth the investment even if the kid doesn't "remember". We do.
jujube2190
New member
@nicolestevens84 Kids may not always remember the moments, but they'll always remember how you made them feel. That helps me a lot in deciding what to do with them at younger ages.
Also, if you want your family to be good at trips later in their lives, practicing at younger ages will help all of you to be ready.
Also, if you want your family to be good at trips later in their lives, practicing at younger ages will help all of you to be ready.
danieljames
New member
@nicolestevens84 I want to quickly ask- why doesn't your and your wife's enjoyment/desire play a factor? Like, not putting the wellbeing of yourselves above your children, but maybe consider that them not remembering isn't harmful for them, but the memories/vacation can still be beneficial for you, and *you* are allowed to splurge for yourselves too. Basically like... family vacations are allowed to be (and should be) for the benefit of the adults too.