The risk of general anesthesia during surgery in children is significantly higher than in adults, and unease and anxiety are often associated before and after surgery, which poses challenges to anesthesia induction and resuscitation. Family‑centered care (FCC), as an advanced nursing model, is expected to significantly improve the perioperative experience of children under general anesthesia by actively involving family members. FCC aims to alleviate the anxiety of children in the perioperative period and improve the recovery effect of anesthesia by enhancing the sense of participation of family members. However, the FCC still faces many challenges in practical application, including environmental restrictions, family differences, and the safety of implementation time. This review summarizes the current situation of FCC application in the perioperative period of children under general anesthesia at home and abroad and discusses the main problems and solutions. Although FCC has demonstrated the potential to optimize perioperative care, its standardization and systematization in implementation still need further research and development. In the future, promoting the widespread application of FCC in the field of surgery and anesthesia resuscitation will provide a new direction for improving the quality of general anesthesia care for children.