• children
• Health services research
• recruitment

The great comedian, W C Fields, is credited with the line, “Never work with children or animals”, but as those of us who have spent a lifetime in the field know, nothing could be further from the truth when engaging in medical research that relates to children. Nevertheless, embarking or participating in paediatric research can be a daunting prospect for those unfamiliar to engaging children in such activities. The aim of this article is to share some of our recent experience in this field in order to encourage others to engage in this hugely worthwhile field.

As is now well recognised, children are not small adults but have an additional, unique set of interests and needs. Paediatricians can play a pivotal role in facilitating paediatric research, since many parents will seek their doctor's advice regarding potential participation in a research project. Unfortunately doctors' reluctance about their patients' participation in research, whether on the grounds of lack of equipoise or the additional workload that this may entail, remains one of the major barriers to research.1 Public trust in paediatric research is also crucial. In order for much needed research to proceed, the public needs to know that standards are in place and are adhered to, to protect the interests of children. Involvement of service users including children in decision-making, in both clinical and research settings, has become a central feature of many health and research funding policies in the past 15 years. Although beyond the scope of the current article, the urgent need to address the current lack of evidence relating to children's collaboration and involvement with research has been summarised recently.2 What is however beyond doubt is that research involving children is important for the benefit of all children, provided it is carried out in an ethical manner1 …