Child of Our Time

Not to be confused with A Child of Our Time, an oratorio (1944) by Michael Tippett

Child of Our Time
Genre Longitudinal study Documentary
Created by Tessa Livingstone
Starring Professor Robert Winston,
The children and their parents
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 10
No. of episodes 29
Production
Producer(s) BBC
Open University
Running time 60 minutes
Release
Original network BBC One
BBC Four (1 episode)
Original release 23 February 2000 (2000-02-23) – present
Chronology
Related shows Up Series
External links
Website

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.[1] In February 2013 it was announced that the series would resume, with two new episodes presented by Winston.[2] Rather than the psychological experiments of previous series, these episodes focused on the first interviews with the participating children themselves and their families.

The children

The 25 children that feature in the programme were born to 22 families between September 1999 and February 2000. They were chosen in order to represent a wide range of genetic, social, geographical and ethnic backgrounds. They are:

Episode guide

No. Entitle Air Date
Series One (2000)
1 Babies 23 February
Series Two (2001)
2 The Personality Test 27 June
3 Tomboy or Sissy? 4 July
4 Brain Magic 11 July
Series Three (2002)
5 Thanks for the Memories 13 August
6 Power Struggles 20 August
7 Active or Idle 28 August
Series Four (2004)
8 Zero to Hero 6 January
9 Read My Lips 13 January
10 The Making of Me 10 January
Series Five (2005)
11 Identity Crisis 4 January
12 State of Play 11 January
13 What are Dads for? 18 January
14 Tried and Tested 25 January
Series Six (2006)
15 Happiness 15 January
16 Flesh and Blood 22 January
17 Right and Wrong 29 January
18 Your Recipe for Success 5 February
Series Seven (2007)
19 The Will to Win 19 August
20 Fitting In or Standing Out 26 August
21 Killing Creativity 2 September
Series Eight (2008)
22 The Divide of the Sexes 7 May
23 The Age of Stress 14 May
24 24 Hours 21 May
25 A Revolution in Childhood 5 June (BBC4)
Series Nine (2010)
26 The Big Personality Test 30 May
27 The Big Personality Test 31 May
Series Ten (2013)
28 Growing Up 27 February
29 Changing Families 28 February

Child of Our Time - the Children's Stories

In 2006, there was a spin-off series showing a 30-minute programme each week on one child and their story so far from birth to the age of 6. The programmes did not add anything significant to what had been shown in the previous six years of the series; they were essentially clip shows.

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 8 February 2006 22 March 2006 5
2 4 October 2006 1 November 2006 5

See also

References

  1. Sherwin, Adam (28 May 2011). "Winston fumes at axing of 'Child of Our Time'". The Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  2. "OU on the BBC: Child of Our Time 2013". The Open University. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.

External links

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