15. When the Bough Breaks

FRONTLINE explores the bond between parents and children and the profound implications for children’s behavior later in life if that attachment is hampered. These characteristics may include overly aggressive behavior, serious learning problems, and delinquency. The program uses surveillance cameras in the homes of three middle-class families who are struggling with troubled children between the ages of sixteen months and three years and observes the behavior and interactions of the children and their parents. ‘Even before they can speak, children give out signals,’ says producer Neil Docherty. ‘What are those signals? And what happens when they are misread or missed entirely?’