This paper commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Platt Report in the United Kingdom and traces the history of parental hospital visiting in relation to its recommendation that, ‘Parents should be allowed to visit whenever they can, and to help as much as possible with the care of the child’ (Ministry of Health, 1959: 38). It tracks how this goal was achieved and identifies how parents moved from being excluded towards being tolerated and finally accepted as participants in their child’s care. This is set against a backdrop of changes in society, systems of healthcare and nurse education as well as trends in the care of the hospitalized children from national and international perspectives. It concludes that if we are to meet the needs of hospitalized children in the 21st century, the focus of research must now shift towards seeking their perspectives on care.
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