Documentary

Child of Our Time

Child of Our Time is a documentary commissioned by the BBC, co-produced with the Open University and presented by Robert Winston. It follows the lives of 25 children, born at the beginning of the 21st century, as they grow from infancy, through childhood, and on to becoming young adults.

The aim of the series is to build up a coherent and scientifically accurate picture of how the genes and the environment of growing children interact to make a fully formed adult. A large portion of the series is made up of experiments designed to examine these questions. The main topic under consideration is: "Are we born or are we made?". The nature of the family in contemporary Britain is also addressed.

The project is planned to run for 20 years, following its subjects from birth until the age of 20. During the first half of its run a set of about three or four episodes was produced annually. After 2008 new episodes became less frequent, and in 2011 there was some doubt about the future of the programme, including from Winston himself. In February 2013 it was announced that the series would resume, with two new episodes presented by Winston. Rather than the psychological experiments of previous series, these episodes focused on the first interviews with the participating children themselves and their families.

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Created By

Status

Ended

Original Name

Child of Our Time

First Air Date

—

Last Air Date

February 28, 2013

Seasons

10

Episodes

30

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

BBC One

S10E02

Changing Families

In this programme we look at how some of our children - and their parents and grandparents - have coped with the changes in their family. Now, with thousands of hours of observational archive and interviews at our disposal, we're able to see how our families have changed in the thirteen years we've been filming them. Viewers will hear our children articulate their feelings about life more eloquently. We discover how they have coped with the divorce of their parents, with getting into trouble at school or even with bereavement. All our families take part in both programmes but this one predominantly features Charlotte, who is now part of a large extended family; Jamie, coping with his parents' separation and divorce; triplets Phoebe, Alice and Mabel; Nathan from Scotland, who is beginning to push boundaries with his parents; Ethan from Northern Ireland; East Anglian Calvin; Rebecca from London; Tyrese from Birmingham; Charlie, whose mum was our youngest Child of Our Time parent; and Eve, who sadly lost her mum to cancer in 2008. We'll also find out from the parents what their expectations might be for their kids as well as explore the future of the family as a whole. How predictive has our 12-year study been - have we identified the key moments that made them who they are today - and how insightful will this archive be in terms of where the children want to go next? The programme gives a fascinating insight into the next generation; as they make the transition from children into young adults.

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