Why do some people forget most of the memories of their childhood while some others can still remember them?

I'm not saying this explanation applies to the boyfriend in question, but it may apply to some people so I'll try to be as circumspect as possible: If I travel by plane or go swimming then quite often my sense of hearing is degraded as my ears pop. Sometimes it takes so long for them to "un-pop" that I grow accustomed to this lesser capability and accept it as the norm. When a person has an unfortunate experience they cannot fully comprehend (so to speak), the equivalent of "ear-popping" can take place as integrated responses to the event are disrupted. In these circumstances, however, the reduction is not in a specific sense such as that of "hearing", but in the overall capacity for life. An over-reliance on thinking, logic, and rationalization may develop as a result of the mind becoming partially seperated from the older (in evolutionary terms) parts of the brain. This barrier makes instant memory retrieval more difficult than would otherwise be the case until it is removed by the psychological equivalent of "un-popping". On a personal note, the following photo was taken some 60 years ago in the attic bedroom of 10 Queen Street, Dover, when I was about two years old: I can remember how cool the dark-red material on the seat of the armchair used to feel against the back of my legs, and how smooth the polished curved wooden pillars on the front felt to the touch. Such memories are not a function of the "mind" alone: for example, if I recall running my hand over the brass studs of my name, then I can still feel an echo of the sensation in my fingertips. I also remember crying before the photo was taken. The jumper (sweater) had been bought for the occasion and it hurt as it's narrow neck was pulled down over my head. This was the first time I realized my 20 year-old brother was a complete idiot when he tried to distract me from the fact my ears were being ripped off by using an "isn't this nice!" tone of voice to say how pretty the reindeer pattern on the jumper looked. Anyway, I threw such a tantrum the jumper never had to be worn again. The armchair was built by my father in the small yard at the back of our  house. I can remember sitting in the proto-chair's wooden frame atop a table while my dad continued its construction around me - it felt like being on top of a mountain! Whilst I'm here, I might as well show you a second photo taken that day as a further demonstation of how dopey my numerous much-older siblings were: As you can see: a) I don't look happy b) I'm holding on to a door handle. This was the second attempt at taking the photo. In the first, my 18 year-old sister dumped me on the rocking horse and then immediately walked off to set up the camera. My complete disbelief at only being given wobbly reins to hold onto ended as I hit the floor.

I remember things from when I was very young and I have a test to make sure that they are real memories. For instance, when my mom was in the hospital having my younger brother, I used to go to my grandma's house during the day while my dad was at work. One morning he said to me, "Get dressed," which I thought meant to put on a dress for Sunday school. He looked at me and asked why I had a dress on since it wasn't Sunday. I was embarrassed for my mistake and changed my clothes. I still remember the emotion I felt about this, which my dad would have been oblivious to. I didn't mention it to my mom or anyone else. My brother is only 2 1/2 years younger than I.

Some people can remember better because the strongest emotions are attached to those memories. Physical and emotional scars are very memorable. But extreme moments of joy, anger, frustration also come into play. Perhaps your boyfriend didn't experience strong enough emotions during his childhood that could have been attached to memories. When some live by a day by day routine and nothing remarkable happens then life seems bland and the days blur together.

This is known as Childhood Amnesia. Most adults do not remember the happenings of their childhood before a certain age. This age varies from person to person but in general is believed to be around 4-6 years. While Freud used to be of the opinion that memories were repressed(mainly because they were too traumatic), later experiments demonstrated that even good memories don't last. A neuroscientist's explanation to this phenomenon is that our brain is not so efficient in making connections while in our childhood. So, these memories fade away as the weaker connections are shed away with time. Since this inefficiency and hence the rate of fading is different in different people, we see it as some people can remember and some can't. Gabrielle Simcock and Harlene Hayne of the University of Otago relate it to the onset of language.We tend to remember things that are somehow relateable to language and forget most of what cannot be. Here is how the experiment goes : They created a memorable event for toddlers of ages ranging from two  to three: a magical shrinking machine. The experimenter taught the  children how to use the large apparatus—a black box with impressive  shiny cranks and handles—to “shrink” a set of toys. The toys were placed  in a large hole in the top of the box, and after the appropriate  sequence of crank-spinning and button-pushing, a smaller replica of the  toy appeared in a separate part of the machine. At the same time, the  toddlers were given a verbal ability test. And critically, their parents  were asked which words from the magical shrinking machine demonstration  their children could actually say. Six months to a year later, the toddlers were revisited and asked  about the experience. Most kids, regardless of their age, could say very  little about the shrinking machine. However, when they were shown  photos of the toys from the experiment along with decoys (for example,  four teddy bears, only one of which was used in the game), they  accurately identified the toys from the game most of the time. The  identical language tests were given to the children at this point, and  by this time the children knew nearly all of the words used in the  original experiment. Yet none of the children interviewed used any of the words that they did not know at the time of the original  demonstration to describe their memory of the event. Though they clearly  could remember the experience, and even showed the experimenters how  the machine worked, they didn’t use the proper words for the parts of  the machine (“handle,” “knob”) if they hadn’t known them at the time of  the original event. The memory existed, but the words were not  associated with the memory. Ref : http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2005/06/22/why-do-we-forget-our-childhood/

I belong to your Boyfriend's group and my father will belong to your side. My dad is 66 and he still recalls things when he was 7! I can't even recall the exam I took during my college. You point out any plant life and he details out its taxonomy and everything about it instantly. I am good with electronics and I pick up things at an alarming rate. He's very creative and I have good problem solving skills. Do you see what I'm hinting at? It's one of the mysteries of the brain - you are simply more eidetic than your boyfriend. I'd bet there are things he does which amazes you and makes you wonder why you can't do the same. Our brains record only it believes to be important and ignores the rest. So how do you remember something unimportant? You repeat the process until it gets stored in your long term memory (which happens at the night). There are several factors which come into play here - the time, who you were with, the experience, the thrill, the adrenaline rush. This is not say all siblings can recall their memories very well but I bet it would be better than people who grew wihout one or with very large age differences.

A lot of it has to do with having photos around the house and hearing the stories retold about them.  Some of your childhood memories have been reinforced.  This would also be the case for your brother. Either your boyfriend didn't have a home environment where this sort of reinforcement took place, there are aspects of his childhood he would rather not remember and replaces them with fantasies instead or he really is wired to not remember his childhood. I personally had no significant trauma growing up and I only remember the bits and snippets from the photographs if I even remember them directly. Many times I do not.  It all really matters how often a story is told that the memory of it is reinforced.  My parents lived around each other for like 13 years for my and my sister's sake finally breaking up when I was a Junior and she was a Freshman respectively.  Neither of us had any idea that anything was wrong because it had always just been that way.  That environment however did not lend itself to cheery reminiscing sessions.  My sister doesn't remember her early childhood either except for fragments here and there.

A fact that i have heard : You remember a particular incident or you have a very strong Memory about an incident when it changes your attitude or you are hurt about something very deeply or which is having a great influence to your life! Like if you had an experience of falling from the stairs and you felt like you're going to die. You must be having a blured memory in somewhere in your mind. It can happen that some people may already have a blured memory about an incident they experienced, while some people gradually come across those memory when they either go to a place which matches their memory or when they face a person who could be involved in the incident which they are starting to remember now! It also varies from person to person, someone remembers each and every incident of their life while others may not be remebering that much, on the same hand, some people may not be remebering anything.

Yeah, just like what other peoples pointed out, human do have childhood amnesia which I believe caused by immature human brain. Apart from that, brain had some funny ways to memorize things. I prefer Sherlock Holme's infamous brain attic theory, which suggest human only put in the things that he think important and unaware-ly took out other things that he rarely use. That, or his stepmother excessively drug him with sleeping pills in his childhood and causes some kind of brain damages.

This is just my opinion, but I think that earliest memories begin when something happens that rocks your world. When you are a child and "something happens!" like you win something, or do something and are suddenly the center of attention, or you experience a break in belonging, an emotional hurt or even something traumatic, and now your life is no longer as it once was. Perhaps that's where our innocence ends and our earliest memories begin. We learn from these  experiences that we are different, or not loved enough or really smart or really loved etc. But because of this event we begin to pay more attention to everything that happens to us, either look for that reward, or prevent that kind of event from happening again. Unfortunately, some of these memories can jade us, or make a cynical throughout our entire lives. So when you ask someone what their earliest memory is, ask them what is the one thing that they can remember about their childhood where suddenly everything was different. You may find the two are related. And when someone tells you that they don't remember anything about their childhood,  it may be that they lived an existence where nothing happened that shook their world, or maybe they just don't want to remember. There are children that when something bad happens they go inside themselves and live in their own little world as a coping mechanism him.