Families come in many shapes and sizes, yet Caillou's creators deliberately chose a traditional family environment. He is surrounded by his mother, father, little sister, and grandparents.

This choice, in an era when many children see their families break apart, comes from the need to present, in a simple context, the mother and father figures that all children need to fully construct their identity. The Caillou books portray universal models so that the universal nature of children's needs may be addressed.