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6 July 2009
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William grinning

Aged five: Identity Crisis

We looked at whether class, skin colour, gender and nationality were already shaping our children's sense of who they were.


This was a troubling year for the Child of Our Time children. They were struggling to get to grips with their identities, piecing together what it means to be a boy or girl, black or white, rich or poor. We wanted to look at whether these categories were already shaping who they were and their expectations of life.

James lived on a council estate in south-east London. His mother was trying to keep her family safe from a threatening ex-boyfriend, and James's life was being turned upside down. Nursery seemed to provide a refuge, but was the turmoil affecting his chances in life?

Calvin playing the body-shape game

For ultra-competitive vet's son William, from Yorkshire, the sky was the limit. With a stable, affluent home life and private education, his was a world full of opportunity. But being brought up with every advantage didn't necessarily mean life was easy. William was locked in a battle of wills with his mother.

For Tyrese, in Birmingham, things were tough. Since his parents had separated the year before, he'd been showing worrying behaviour at nursery. His mum, Marie, was concerned about the long-term effects of the separation, but also about Tyrese's prospects as a black, dyslexic male. We looked at whether her efforts to give her son a positive black identity would pay off.

How much is body image affected by how our parents feel about themselves? For Rebecca in Essex, food had become a thorny issue. She was so small, her doctor recommended her parents think about growth hormones. But her mum already thought Rebecca wouldn't be happy about the way she'd look in the future.

Find out how the children spend their leisure time in programme 2.


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