Even as a child – wait, stop here while I correct this and start again. As a child….
(There's no "even" about it; children – babies included – are incredibly full of wisdom and we benefit from paying attention to what they say and what they do and how they do it and why.)
As a child I felt some numbers were special; "felt" as compared to "thought" because I could not have explained why; certain numbers 'worked' for me in varying ways so I learned to 'use' them, to notice their (re)occurrence, to pay attention, to let their appearance affect my choices.
I still do. Even as an adult.
Over the years since childhood (many!) I have become aware of other people's awareness/study/use of numbers: the 5 to 8 ratio; the magic of the number 9; the rhythm of counting; the history; the organization; the meaning: 13 for transition and change, 8 for abundance, 5 for social interaction …; the master numbers 11, 22, 33, 44; numerology…..
They guide rather than govern, suggest rather than dictate. What fun.
And in the wonderful way of synchronism just after I wrote this I got chatting with a young woman about numbers and her use of them and her father's similar use of them. This came about because I mentioned that I tend to choose certain numbers when casting on stitches for a knitting project.