Accumulating evidence shows that children are not simply little adults, and adapting adult evidence on medical care to children can result in ineffective or even unsafe medical care. The growing number of trials in children reflects this imperative to create a child-specific evidence base. Motivated by the increased focus on clinical research in children and the stark deficiencies in knowledge about the best ways to deal with methodological and practical challenges of research in children, the STaR Child Health initiative was created. It aims to enhance the design, conduct, and reporting of trials in children. The initiative brings together an international group of leading methodologists, clinicians, regulators, funders, and decision-makers to systematically identify what is known, create a research agenda where gaps exist and translate information into practical guidance for end-users. It is critical that funders, researchers, and editors work together for improved conduct and reporting of trials in the next 5-10 years to ensure that the investment in this area will produce the most reliable and relevant results. The first StaR Child Health summit will take place in Amsterdam on the 26th and 27th of October.