The family is the basic social unit - it shares responsibility for the health of its members, as it is one of the oldest and strongest social structures. Family members are bound together by genetic, environmental and moral characteristics.

Family health is a broader concept than the sum of the health of its members. This is because it takes into account the role of psychological, social and health interactions between each other, including the relationships between individual members in the so-called nuclear family (parents and their children).

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Especially important from a psycho-pedagogical point of view is the satisfaction of emotional needs, i.e. love, belonging, understanding, exchange of feelings, recognition and respect, and a sense of security.

The satisfaction of the child's needs depends on the affectional attitude of the parents towards the child, i.e. on parental attitudes. Certain types of attitudes are conducive to the child's mental development, while others prevent it and have a negative impact on the development of the child's personality.

M. Ziemska's research shows that parents' acceptance of the child, recognition of the child's rights, their warm attitude to the child and psychological support have a positive impact on the child's emotional, social and intellectual development, promoting, among other things, the child's ability to express feelings, establish lasting emotional bonds, as well as independence and responsibility.

On the other hand, a strict parental attitude towards the child, excessive restraint and punishment, combined with a lack of acceptance and emotional warmth, have a negative impact mainly on the child's psychosocial development.

The result of such interactions can be an inability to form lasting emotional bonds, distrust and fear of others, as well as adaptation difficulties, neurotic reactions and even weight problems (overweight, obesity).