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.

Programme

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 ran 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. Further episodes followed in 2017, with a final instalment in 2020 concluding the series. Rather than the psychological experiments of previous series, episodes from 2013 focused on interviews with the participants and their families. The final episode focused primarily on three participants (Eve, Jamie and Rhianna) reflecting on their childhood, with short interview contributions from others.

The children

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

Episode guide

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.