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In this and a second linked paper (Natasha Quitak 'Difficulties in Holding the Role of the Observer'), social work tutors and a former student examine the learning which can come from the experience of infant and child observation in social work qualifying training. The ability to hold the role of observer is an essential skill for social work which can to a large extent be learned. It involves finding a distance close enough to experience the feelings involved in the child's relationships but far enough out to be able to think about them. Difficulties in managing the anxieties involved in the task may be linked to students' own familial and cultural patterns of relating. Attachment theory and psychodynamic thinking provide the theoretical underpinning for learning. This first paper is written from the perspective of the social work tutor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]