The western society, during the XX century, is in a constant change process, and the transformations can be seen in many aspects, that include family life and children day-to-day routine. So, this study was planned to bring data about some aspects of Brazilian family life and infancy during the last decades. To accomplish this objective, urban families from middle class were interwied according to a guide whith questions about the parents and kids' infancy, as well as their adult relationships. These results allow us to discuss the influence of some macro variables - like industrialization, urbanization, consumption society - in brazilian family life and in the determination of day-to-day children routine. What can be discussed is their influence on childhood development.
family; activities of daily living; parent-child relations