The goal of this paper is to discuss the role of emotion-related factors in language choice in bi- and multilingual families. Most of the time, factors other than emotions govern language choice and use in such families, among them language dominance, social context and linguistic competence of the interlocutors. However, quantitative and qualitative analyses of bi- and multilingual parents' web questionnaire responses suggest that perceived language emotionality and affective repertoires offered by particular languages also play a role in language choice and use in parent-child communication, in particular in emotional expression. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)