Child of Our Time

'Child of Our Time' has to be the most ingenious factual shows the BBC has ever produced. Hosted by Professor Robert Winston, the show started in the year 2000 and follows the lives of twenty-five British children, who were born in 1999/2000, and their families. Every year, a number of episodes charts the youngsters as they progress and this will continue over the next twenty years to examine how children develop into adults and what shapes us to being who we are. The children's families come various areas of the UK and from all walks of life and the study includes a sets of twins, a set of triplets and Parys Lapper, the son of disabled artist Alison Lapper whose statue can be found at Trafalgar Square.

The children themselves are very engaging little individuals, all-- at least for now-- happy to be filmed and open with the cameras. Their parents are equally as accommodating to explain how their offspring have changed and offering personal insights that might have shaped the children and taking part in various experiments.

It's a show that already offers valuable insight, as we watch the children grew from tiny infants into mischievous toddlers into active school pupils, into how people develop as they grow. Professor Winston explains various psychological theories in lay-man's terms and demonstrates various tests with the children to further enhance the study's aims, which, I might add, leave viewers wanting to find a child of a similar age to try the experiments out for themselves! An educational show, enhanced by the charming natures of all the children, and it will be very interesting to continue watching as the years go by to see what the future holds in store the adults that these wee ones will one day become.