An attempt to assess the structure of the studied families, patterns of their functioning, home and environment provision of toys stimulating children’s development, as well as verification of possible relationships between these variables was undertaken in this study. In order to give suggestion of typology of families there was an analysis of clusters. The study involved 126 families with children aged from 3 to 18 months. Following instruments were used: AHEMD for children aged 3-18 months and HOME for children aged 0-36 months “Interview and observation”. On the basis of the cluster analysis five types of families were distinguished – “Families with training parents”, “Families with caring parents”, “Families with parents overcoming difficulties”, “Families with elitist parents” and “Families with not-involved parents”.

The Role of Early Childhood Experiences in the Shaping of Mental Health

The work concerns the role of childhood experiences in the development of mental health. It is believed that regardless of the emotional relationship and genetic predispositions, appropriately selected stimulants in the environment may also influence the young child’s development. In the first periods of child’s life the experiences gained in family pay as crucial character as the environment where this development takes place. It is emphasized in literature that appropriate intellectual and social development of a child is related with the influence of the external environment as long as it is available and logically designed. In Poland only a few studies concern families with small children – they are usually carried out by sociologists, moreover, there is also very little data on the determinants of the development of children and possible role of these for mental health. It was therefore attempted in this work to describe possible childhood experiences, which may play role in the development of mental health in childhood and adolescence or adulthood.