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Background Adverse experiences in childhood (AEs) typically refer to child maltreatment (e.g., abuse and neglect), potentially traumatic household events (e.g., parental separation), and other disadvantageous experiences such as being bullied. These data are not easily collected locally or nationally. This study aims to identify details relevant to AEs collected from the Born in Bradford Birth Cohort (BiB) families and summarise the sample prevalence of AEs from birth to adolescence.Methods We included children in the BiB birth cohort who participated in the follow-ups – Growing Up (GUp) and Age of Wonder (AoW). AE categories were derived with data 1) self-reported by parent(s) at baseline (2007–2011) and/or GUp (2017–2022) about health, alcohol and/or drug consumption, living arrangements, and children’s bullying experience, 2) self-reported by children at AoW (2022–24) about bullying experience and living arrangements, and 3) from primary care records regarding any mental illness or substance use of the parents. The four AEs identified and derived were parental mental illness, parental harmful use of substances, children not living with both parents in the same home, and being bullied. Any occurrence of these AEs from birth to adolescence of the children was inferred accordingly.Results 5253 BiB birth cohort children had data at baseline and GUp; 2662 of them participated at AoW. The available data show that at least 3368 (64.1%) of these children experienced at least one AE between birth and ages 12–15. The risk of children experiencing bullying to not was higher in adolescence (AoW) (409/1313=0.312) than in mid-childhood (GUp) (1298/5151=0.252). The risk of children not living with both parents to with both parents was also higher in adolescence (359/1846=0.195) than around birth (baseline) (536/4393=0.122) and mid-childhood (961/4916=0.195). However, the transition between these periods, e.g., the direction of change, differed between individuals. The risk of experiencing parental mental illness and parental substance use were 0.395 (2077/5253) and 0.074 (387/5253), respectively.Discussion Despite the limited data availability, over half of the included children were estimated to have experienced one of the four AEs. Reducing children experiencing AEs, particularly the high proportions of parental mental illnesses and bullying, requires more effective interventions. The BiB studies, e.g., AoW, continue to collect data on the children and families, which can be derived into some commonly regarded AEs. The health and social care routine records supplement the self-reported data. Combining the data from these sources can provide a more reliable account of AE occurrences.