Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) are highly specialized medical facilities dedicated to managing both conditions that are unique to children and others that are also encountered in adults but require a distinct, age-related therapeutic approach. This reprint originates from a comprehensive call for contributions on "Pediatric Intensive Care-Practice and Research". The result is a robust collection of papers reflecting the specialty's entire professional and scientific scope, including resuscitation, congenital malformations, acquired infections, and long-term psychological outcomes. By addressing emerging infections, the implications of the global pandemic, and advanced organ replacement therapies, it powerfully highlights contemporary challenges in a field that has long since outgrown its own "infancy".