Losing and regaining the thread: learning from the experience of moving from in-person to Zoom observations

ABSTRACT The authors of this paper describe and share their experiences of moving from in-person infant observation to observing remotely on Zoom during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The story is told chronologically, firstly reflecting on their own response to the change, and then, through vignettes, looking at detailed aspects of the move for the babies and their families, as well as tracking the emergence of distinct and meaningful online observations. This is followed by a discussion of a particular feature of remote observations that came to be seen as a significant dimension of the material in both observations: that of the family’s agency in positioning the device, and thus the observer, during observations. The authors were members of the same Infant Observation seminar and were both in the second year of two-year observations when the UK government imposed a national lockdown.