The Secret Life of Four Year Olds, Channel 4 - TV review: No one does insults like these kids
"You're just a tiny mouse on a purple toilet!" said Cuba to Skyla when she wouldn't give him a turn on the scooter
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."Stop ringing me, Richard. You’re not the dad!" That's not a line of dialogue from last night’s EastEnders, that was a little girl playing makebelieve in Channel 4's hilarious and revealing fly-on-the-nursery-wall documentary The Secret Life of Four-Year-Olds. Embarrassing for her mum, perhaps, but fascinating for Dr Paul Howard-Jones and Dr Sam Wass, the two scientists observing 10 children as they met for the first time, in a classroom rigged with cameras and wired for sound.
The four-year-olds did the things that four-year-olds do – whispered secrets, threw tantrums, picked their noses – and it was surprising to note how defined their personalties already were. Big-for-his-age Chaim bulldozed his way around, snatching up toys. It was an effective way to establish dominance, but how would he fare when it came to making friends?
Skyla was a self-described cutie whose well-honed manipulation techniques work better on adults than her peers and serious, steadfast Christian was described by his parents as "a bit of an old man". Still, in his determination to finish the den-building task even after the teacher had declared the other group winners, the psychologists identified "grit", a key predictive factor in future success. Christian will be bossing us all around in approximately 40 years’ time.
Fascinating, too, was the way that one particular social skill assumed an importance above all others – sharing. Those children who knew how made friends more easily and those friends provided invaluable support when conflict arose. Speaking of conflict, no one does off-the-cuff insults quite like an excitable four-year-old: "You’re just a tiny mouse on a purple toilet!" said Cuba to Skyla when she wouldn’t give him a turn on the scooter. "You’re actually a green toilet and I’m telling my cat to scratch your face" was Skyla’s damning comeback.
We may begin learning to express emotions in nursery school, but, truth be told, many are still struggling to master this life skill long into adulthood.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments