This is a study of mother-child relationships (from birth to 18 months), using a homogeneous sample of 15 babies born in the same month. Mothers and babies lived in Algiers. The study is based on direct observation, in the family setting, of the behavior of women and children, mother-child interactions and child rearing techniques. It is also based on the analysis of semi-directed interviews (in arabic and french) with the mothers as well as on psychometric tests of the children (the Brunet-Lezine baby-test). The authors highlight the difficulties for the mother and for the child which are a result of the conflict between traditional and western culture.