The Sweet Smell Of Childhood Memories – Being Parents

If you were asked to remember your last trip, visual images as well as sequences of events would likely come to mind. But what if you tried to bring back childhood memories?

These would arise in the form of emotions, of diffuse but intense sensations. Indeed, the smell of childhood memories is indelible.

We have all experienced this before. We are walking down the street and suddenly a smell sends us back to the past. In a way so vivid that we feel like we are traveling through our childhood.

Therefore, even if we rarely think about it, the olfactory stimuli that our child receives as a child are implanting emotions that will accompany him throughout his life.

Smells, memories and emotions

There are two interesting facts to consider regarding memories. The first is that although we are an extremely visual species,  in our first few years of life memories are mainly established through smell. Babies already use this sense to recognize their mom. Then, until the age of 10, the weight of smells in the formation of memories is very important.

In addition,  the memories evoked by smells have a much more emotional component. When you recall a visual scene from your past or a conversation you had, you are recalling facts and events. It is a more precise and objective search for information.

On the other hand,  when a person with such a familiar scent walks by you, you feel immersed in feelings and emotional states. At that moment, you do not actually remember what happened. It is more the intimate and personal perceptions related to this smell that are registered in you.

The emotional brain

In other words,  powerful associations between smells and internal states are established in our brain. So when we perceive this same olfactory stimulation, we are overwhelmed by the emotion that previously accompanied the smell.

But, what makes this type of memory so characteristic? Why are smells capable of taking us on an emotional journey through our childhood? Because the sense of smell is closely linked to the emotional brain.

Before reaching the cerebral cortex,  stimuli from the sense of smell pass through two main areas of the brain, the amygdala and the hippocampus. These regions are strongly linked to emotions and memories. For the same reason, smells permeate and fix in our memories the emotion that we felt at that precise moment.

This takes place more prominently in children. Smell is indeed the main sense they use to relate to the world in the first stage of their life.

Therefore, smells allow us to access childhood memories that would otherwise be difficult to find. Indeed, most adults keep few memories of their childhood.

The sweet smell of childhood memories

For all the reasons mentioned above, children will have memories of their early years that are strongly associated with emotional states. So in the future some characteristic smells will bring them back to those happy years.

Mom’s scent will always remind them of the warm and comforting feeling of her hugs. The smell of golden cookies will send them back to the carelessness and innocence with which they stopped playing, momentarily, to go for a taste.

Likewise,  the smell of the summer rain that wets the earth will activate their memories of these family days in the countryside.  Then, the smell of plasticine will help them relive, almost inevitably, the bond with their brothers and  sisters  when they spent long hours playing and imagining together.

All of these memories will invade them at the least expected moment when, coming out of nowhere, a pleasantly familiar scent permeates their senses. In addition,  these memories are powerful anchors. They rekindle emotions when they need it most.

In the future, when your child needs to feel loved, safe, protected or happy again, all they have to do is light the same aromatic candle that currently resides in your living room.

Or cook this dish that his grandmother prepares for him when he comes back from the swimming pool. The smell of childhood memories is a treasure that accompanies us throughout our life,  a resource that we will always have at hand.