Treatment decisions regarding infants, children and adolescents

To ensure that the best decisions are made for children and adolescents, these decisions should be made jointly by members of the health care team, the child or adolescent’s parents, and sometimes the child or adolescent. Children and adolescents should be involved in decision-making to an increasing degree as they develop, until they are capable of making their own decisions about treatment. End-of-life decisionmaking, whether or not the child or adolescent is involved, is especially complex.