Watch Child of Our Time (2025) Online!
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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Episode 1 - Happiness
Release Date: 2006-01-15Robert Winston returns for a new series, beginning by assessing the youngsters' ability to be happy. He discovers which areas of the brain develop self-confidence and contentment - and finds illuminating patterns when comparing the children's results with their parents'. Further tests identify the optimists and pessimists within the group, as well as revealing how resilient they are.
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Episode 2 - Flesh and Blood
Release Date: 2006-01-22Professor Robert Winston examines how children's development is affected by the bonds with their siblings, a relationship thought to be even more important than that between parent and offspring. He asks why some brothers and sisters get on well and others loathe one another, and tests the youngsters' temperaments to learn how they respond to differential treatment.
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Episode 3 - Right and Wrong
Release Date: 2006-01-29Professor Robert Winston finds out how the six-year-olds are distinguishing between right and wrong, discovering the ways in which upbringing affects values in later life.
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Episode 4 - Your Recipe for Success
Release Date: 2006-02-05Professor Robert Winston presents an interactive show in which the children's ability to pick up new skills is tested through a series of elaborate games and puzzles. He also meets people who use all their senses to learn, including a former world memory champion and a man with synaesthesia.