Sedation in children poses a great challenge, with the main concern one of safety. The importance of providing adequate sedation to children was realized only in the last decade and a half, and relevant data are severely lacking. Use of potent sedative agents is not without risk. Children are given sedative agents in a wide variety of settings by practitioners with different degrees of experience with the drugs and management of adverse effects. Controversial issues must be addressed in this area, and appropriate tools developed to measure sedation and individualize treatment based on the drugs' pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties.