The First Relationship: Infant and Mother, With a New Introduction

by Daniel N. Stern

Daniel Stern's pathbreaking video-based research into the intimate complexities of mother-infant interaction has had an enormous impact on psychotherapy and developmental psychology. His minute analyses of the exchanges between mothers and babies have offered empirical support and correction for many theories of development. In the complex and instinctive choreography of "conversations," including smiles, gestures, and gazing, Stern discerned patterns of both emotional harmony and emotional incongruity that illuminate children's relationships with others in the larger world.

Now a noted authority on early development, Stern first reviewed his unique methods and observations in The First Relationship. Intended for parents as well as for therapists and researchers, it offers a lucid and nontechnical overview of the author's key ideas and encapsulates the major themes of his subsequent books.

"When I reread The First Relationship I was astonished to find in it almost all the ideas that have guided my work in the subsequent decades. At first I didn't know whether to be depressed or delighted. As I thought it over, I am encouraged by the realization that I had some basic perspective at the very beginning that was sufficiently well founded to guide twenty-five years of observation and ideas...This book makes it possible to see, or foresee, the unfolding of an intrinsic design."--from the new introduction by Daniel Stern

Genres: Parenting, Psychology

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Naphi3 kzm · Rating 3 out of 5]

محتوای کتاب به مطالعاتی در حوزه پژوهش راجع به ریزه کاری های تعامل مراقب و کودک در شش ماهه اول پرداخته، مطالب گاها آموزنده هستند و ارزش خوندن داره به نظرم منتها حتما زبان اصلی.
ترجمه کتاب از مقصود خدایاری افتضاحه!

[Ruby Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hours of observing film footage of mothers interacting with their infants led Stern to write that “the infant is a virtuoso performer in his attempts to regulate both the level of stimulation from the caregiver and the internal level of stimulation in himself. The mother is also a virtuoso in her moment-by-moment regulation of the interaction.” Each member of the dyad comes with a limited repertoire of expression: facial expressions, head movements and gurgles on the part of the infant, mirroring, repetition and exaggeration on the part of the mother, and yet “Together they evolve some exquisitely intricate dyadic patterns.”

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I think first time parents ought to read...to gain a deeper understanding of the intuitive parenting skills they already possess. I can't help but think that somewhere along the way the "gaze" was broken for me, or perhaps, I never had the gaze-path to begin with. :(
(Being told that on my first entry into the world that I "looked and looked and looked around.")

[Sevgi Tüccar-Çelik · Rating 3 out of 5]

İçeriği faydalı olsa da sunuş biçimi okuyucuyu içine çeken bir tarzda değil. Anneler için pek çok yeni bilgi içerse de oldukça teknik bir kitap. İlişkiselliğe bilimsel, hatta evrimsel bir perspektiften yaklaşıyor. Gelişim üzerine yoğunlaşmış, daha çok evrimsel ve fizyolojik açıklamalara dayanan bir çalışma. Bu yüzden psikolojiden çok biyolojik temelli bir bakış açısı sunuyor.

[Laurel Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for first time moms! Very reassuring.

[Oli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it around the birth of my first child. Rather academic but absolutely fascinating. The description of the mother-infant language helped me understand and appreciate our own experiences.

[LaLa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stern says this is a "what is" book not a "how to" book.
that is the best kind of book Dr Stern.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a research focused book. Still interesting