Resilience as a science appeared in the '60s and '70s and became the subject of study of many different scientific disciplines. Interest in the study of its origin and mode of functioning grows in situations of unfavorable circumstances, therefore World War II was the foundation of the origin of resilience research. Resilience is seen as the ability of a system (individual, family, community) to adapt to difficulties that threaten the functioning, sustainability and development of the entire system. The main goal of the paper was to present the concept of resilience, its features and a historical overview of the origin and development of concept research. The paper observes the role of the family in the development of resilience in children through various mechanisms: prevention and moderation of exposure to risky situations, buffering the effects of adversity, raising competent and adaptive children, family routines and parental behaviour and authoritative parenting style. Also, the paper treats the family as a potential source of stress and trauma for the child through several possible situations: genetic vulnerability, mediated risk, a conflict between parents, and child neglect and abuse. At the end of the paper, the ways of intervention and prevention and the role of social workers and their competence in working with families on the development of their resilience are presented.