Kids getting special medical attention is a twentieth-century thing. There was a time when we took it for granted that many children died before the age of five. Then we realized that some simple measures could reduce child mortality significantly. We also realized that if we took care to have healthy children, we were more likely to have healthy, able, adults (to be soldiers and workers—a big concern in the early 20th century).

Society began to see children as an important investment. We developed a special interest in the health of children. Pediatrics was born.