Life at 1 is the first instalment in a landmark series that aims to unlock the secrets of child development by following 11 babies and their families for seven years. Made in conjunction with the long-term study in which 10,000 Australian children have been placed under a sociological and scientific microscope, this groundbreaking program focuses on those first formative years to try to discover what creates a happy, healthy child and makes us who we are. Like those in the study, the 11 families in this series come from different walks of life. The challenges they face are both ordinary and extraordinary. As we follow the babies through milestone events and days of ordinary routine, we witness the impact on their lives of factors such as their parents' relationships, finances, work, health and education. We watch the fascinating interplay of nature and nurture. And we predict the future. Our experts, families and the information collected by the largest study ever conducted on Australian children tell us what limits children's growth and wellbeing and what makes them thrive. In Life at 1 we also conduct behavioural and biological experiments - with rather surprising results. In Episode 1 we discover the personalities of our babies and in Episode 2 we find out if the stress of modern living is too much stress for a child. Join us for the beginning of an extraordinary journey. Personality not only affects how a child responds to their world but it also affects how we respond to them. The truth is we treat a shy and withdrawing child differently to one who is confident and outgoing. This episode of Life at 1 explores how childcare, IVF, large families, playgroups, racism and premature birth might shape the personality of a child in their first year f life. We witness the intriguing results of two experiments that tell us how confident and outgoing these infants are. And we talk to the child development experts to see if we can predict at this tender age the type of person these children will become. Personality Experiments For over 20 years behavioural scientists have used two simple experiments to determine a childs personality. The Scary Robot - They challenge them with an unfamiliar and noisy object like a large robot with shiny, sharp angles and loud noise. Life at 1 did this with the childs primary carer by their side. This observation allows scientists to observe where a child sits in a range from fearful to bold. The Stranger Encounter - They get their parent to settle their child in a room with some toys. After a few minutes the parent leaves the room and the child is alone for approx 60 seconds. A stranger then enters the room and attempts to engage the child in play by sitting down with a box of toys and coaxing the child through some set language to come over to them and play. This observation allows scientists to observe how the child responds in a range from outgoing to shy. In Life at 1 the temperament expert, Professor Ann Sanson, observes each of the 11 children in these experiments. Then to predict how their personalities are shaping up she combines this with the information provided by the parents when they did the questionnaire for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children