BACKGROUND: The family narratives are true contextual cues in the representation of the experiences of illness of depressive child. The family members use healthcare services in an attempt to understand the disease so that describe the everyday practices in the living with the child. OBJECTIVE: This original article aims to present childhood depression with its various nuances and its many consequences in the family context. METHODS: The universe of this study involved 24 families in the age group ranging from 45 to 70 years who searched the care services at Children's Psychosocial Care Center (CAPSi). Through the records, a survey of the family members was performed, from case reports, in the course of medical and psychological consultations. This is a purposive sample, which was selected by approximation the inclusion criteria, a sample of 12 family members of both sexes. The attention focused on the use of narrative interview - which is recognized as a genre of sociolinguistic research - fully recorded. RESULTS: The family member has its convivial trajectory with the disease through a specific identity and enunciation with the child. The family narratives show up symbolic portraits to the rescue of the guiding elements of the depressive situation. The family narratives are shown as spaces of reinterpretation of pain and psychological distress. The disorder explained in the narratives of childhood depression inserted in understanding plays a crucial role in exposing the intensity of pain and psychological distress. CONCLUSION: It is fundamental important in clinical care the psychiatric practice inserted into the historical and social context of the family members who have their own living narrative with the disease.