{"id":4122,"date":"2019-02-07T19:02:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T00:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/perceptual-studies\/?page_id=4122"},"modified":"2025-03-21T11:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T15:11:53","slug":"children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/perceptual-studies\/our-research\/children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Children Who Report Memories of Past Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.

Jim Tucker with Ryan Hammond and his mother. Read about this interesting case in Dr. Tucker’s book, Return to Life<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Some young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 5, speak about memories of a previous life they claim to have lived. At the same time they often show behaviors, such as phobias or preferences, that\u00a0are unusual within the context of their particular\u00a0family and cannot be\u00a0explained by any current life events. These memories\u00a0appear to be\u00a0concordant with the child\u2019s statements about a\u00a0previous life<\/span>. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In many cases of this type, the child\u2019s statements have been shown to correspond accurately to facts in the life and death of a deceased person. Some of the children have birthmarks and birth defects that correspond to wounds or other marks on the deceased person whose life\u00a0is\u00a0being remembered\u00a0by the\u00a0child.\u00a0 In numerous cases postmortem reports have confirmed these correspondences. Older children may retain these apparent memories, but generally they seem to fade around the age of 7 .\u00a0 The young subjects of these cases have been found\u00a0all over the world including Europe and North America.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past 20 years, Dr. Jim Tucker, now the director of the Division of Perceptual Studies, has focused mainly on cases found in the United States. His book Return to Life<\/a><\/strong><\/em> offers accounts of\u00a0 very strong American cases of young children who remember previous lives. In this book, Dr. Tucker writes about the now well-known cases of James Leininger<\/a>, a young boy who had verifiable past-life memories of being a WWII pilot, and Ryan Hammond<\/a>, who had verifiable memories of being a Hollywood extra and talent agent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dr.

Dr. Jim Tucker interviewing a young child<\/p><\/div>\n

Statements made by a child who seems to be remembering a previous life<\/strong> <\/span>can be quite varied. The following list of possible statements is not an exhaustive list by any means. It is designed to give an idea of the kinds of things a parent or caregiver might hear, and in our Western culture, tend to dismiss as fantasy.<\/p>\n

It is also true that a child might say one or more of these things and not be remembering a previous life. It is probably best not to pump a child for information, nor to try and prevent him or her from saying such things.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Types of Statements a Child Might Make:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n