The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds

Channel 4’s highest-rated single documentary of the year, The Secret Life of Four Year Olds, is back.  The show that lifted the lid on the riveting, uncensored drama of life in the nursery returns as a seven-part series, comprising The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds x 2, The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds x 2 and The Secret Life of 6 Year Olds x 2 as well as the return of some of the original 4 year olds in a Nativity Christmas Special.

It’s midsummer and over the course of the holidays more than 50 children come to a specially rigged school, where they meet each other for the first time, make friends, play together – sometimes harmoniously, sometimes less so – and learn skills that will stay with them forever.

This is arguably the most crucial period in a child’s development as they cross the threshold from family life into the social arena of school, and the tools of social interaction these children are learning can lay the foundations for the relationships they will form right across their adult lives.

As before the children delight us with their ingenuity, their charm and their humour as we eavesdrop on their secret world.  And seeing these pivotal ages alongside each other in one series offers an unprecedented window on the huge developmental milestones that children reach between the ages of four and six.

This time the action unfolds under the watchful eyes of three scientists, Professor Paul Howard-Jones (Educational Neuroscientist, Bristol University), Dr Sam Wass (Developmental Psychologist, MCR Cognition & Brain Unit, Cambridge) Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, (Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Oxleas NHS Trust). 

At any one time, two of the three are present throughout and filmed in situ as they observe and comment on the development of key social skills, such as emotional regulation, empathy and morality, in what promises to be a fascinating new series.

“I think it’s the purest thing I’ve ever seen,” says Dr Kilbey. “There is something just magical about being party to those little encounters between children. It’s as beautiful as it gets.”

Notes to editors:

The series has been supported by The Wellcome Trust, who worked with the production company on its development to help make the science and scientists an integral part of the format.

Their funding support also enabled the production company to spend more time exploring the areas of science of interest to audiences and to include this within a collection of  short online films which support the main series.