The family is the basic cell of every society and is therefore a key element in the creation and existence of every state across the world. At the beginning of the 21st century, more than ever the institution of the family is in crisis, characterized by a particularly low interest in the state of marriage and a high divorce rate among young couples. The main negative elements acting on the existence of families in the Slovak Republic include in particular the low social and economic status of the population, the expansion of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, some family members moving to work elsewhere in Slovakia or abroad and also the gradual drifting apart of young families from parents and grandparents. If the crisis of social units has violated the harmony and adjourned original morality and ethics, we can look at the initial violence and many serious conflicts. In this paper we deal with the family in terms of key features. Subsequently, we analyze the harmonious family, the disharmonic family, friends and functionality. Further emphasis is on intergenerational solidarity in the social unit, which is essential to maintain and develop the company. Finally, it should be added that at present there are different views on the form of the family, including social and legislative form of homosexual social units. It should be noted that in the Slovak society the dominant view is on maintaining the traditional family.