ABSTRACT
Before he was born mother was all around him; all there was. Arriving on the stage the newborn will be met by a number of characters who express an interest in him. From his point of view mother is the most important, but he soon gets to know others, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, childminders and
mother’s partner, usually his father. From a very early age infants are alert not only to the qualities of care they receive from individuals but also to how these people get on with each other. Elegant laboratory studies of 3-month-old children filmed with their parents demonstrate how keenly engaged they are in the couple’s relationship: “infants as young as 12 weeks make ‘triangular bids’ to share their affects with both parents: they rapidly alternate their gaze and affect signals between them” (Fivaz-Depeursinge et al. 2007: 18).
