TV REVIEW : ‘Frontline’ Takes a Look at Power of Early Family Ties

Canadian filmmaker Neil Docherty has a way with kids. His previous work for “Frontline,” “The Trouble With Evan,” used remote cameras to document the struggles of a family with an unruly child. In Docherty’s new “Frontline” report, “When the Bough Breaks,” he explores what could be the roots of the kind of unruliness Evan displayed.

In the process, Docherty provides solid evidence for what might be a key theory of child development.

Attachment theory, introduced several years ago by British psychiatrist John Bowlby, suggests that young personalities are powerfully influenced by the amount of parental affection they’re given in the first months of life. In three cases, “Bough” documents how “natural” maternal affection is a myth; active affection is not only a learned practice, but also can take weeks to learn.

Make no mistake: The three mothers here are sharp, sensitive, intelligent women. But due to various circumstances--from terribly arduous childbirths, to bad habits passed down through generations--all are trapped in daily pitched battles with their toddlers. 11-month-old Callum and 18-month-old Victoria refuse to sleep, while Gabrielle, over two years old, refuses to eat.

Frustrated by useless advice from their pediatricians, the families visit attachment therapists at the Toronto-based children’s mental health center, the Hinks Institute.

Docherty places remote cameras in each home and incorporates the therapists’ own remote camera into a remarkable recording of how impossible behavior can change. The mothers falsely assume the problem lies with their kids; through toy play and other techniques, they learn that the toddlers’ screams have actually been calls for affection.

Psychologist Robert Karen places these three cases in a larger social frame, insisting that babies can be set on a deadly course into adulthood without the simple essentials of stroking, touching, cuddling and listening. Studies suggest that academic excellence is often linked to close parental ties at birth, while criminals often had poor ties.

Karen and his fellow attachment colleagues think they may have spotted a basic dose of preventive medicine for society’s ills, and Docherty’s film is potently convincing proof.

* “When the Bough Breaks” airs at 9 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28.