Child of Our Time

Project description

'Child of Our Time' (COOT) is a unique project, of which the prime-time broadcasts on BBC1 are only one facet. Starting in 1999, 22 couples were filmed as they prepared for the births of their 'millennium babies'. Since then, they have been followed and filmed year-on-year to build a rich record of the progress of the children and their families.

Purpose

The filming has covered life in the family homes, and the children's and parents' experiences in other settings, such as work, playgroups and school classes. The committed aim of the project is to follow this cohort of families until the children are 20 years old; the longest running project in the BBC's history. The focus will continue to be on 'what makes us what we are'. 

Results/Outcomes

The public interest in COOT is massive. The Open University joined the project as a co-production partner in 2002 and has been developing its involvement website, commissioning essays and designing interactive materials, downloads and surveys for the site, and producing sets of activity cards, linked with the programme themes, for parents to order from the Open University. Viewing figures for the series regularly exceed 4 or 5 million, with very high audience appreciation ratings.

Enquiries to the Open University following on from the broadcasts, website and cards have been running at over 40,000 a year for the last two years. The OU considers that the cost of dealing with this volume is economically justified in terms of follow through into entry level courses and other educational offerings. Additional survey activities are added to the site, collecting data from children and adults on topics such as self-image, leisure preferences and expectations of parents, and lifestyle choices. The website also shows summaries of these data as they build.