This literature review examines the effects of hospitalization on the young child and suggests ways in which parents and hospital personnel can protect children from the potentially harmful emotional and intellectual effects of hospitalization. The history of attitudes toward the hospitalization of children is discussed. Children's emotional reactions to hospitalization (i.e., bewilderment, withdrawal, redefinition of body image) and their success in dealing with the anxieties of the hospital experience are examined in terms of long-term mental health. It is suggested that efforts should be made to provide "mothering-type" care to hospitalized children, but not to the extent that a feeling of dependency is fostered in these children. Hospitalized children's intellectual development is stressed. Methods in which the hospital environment can provide sources for stimulation and exploration are suggested. Hospital administrators, educators, parents, and medical professionals are called on to develop education programs to increase public awareness of the importance of the hospital stay for the young girl. (BRT)