The author provides practitioners with a summary of recent trends in the management of acute pain in children. This review encompasses pharmacologic techniques as they pertain to two common acutely painful conditions in children: postoperative and procedural pain. In the area of postoperative analgesia, reviewed are the use of regional anesthesia, spinal opioids, alpha-agonists, preemptive analgesia, and patient-controlled analgesia. In the area of procedural pain, current standards for safety guidelines and several recently introduced sedative and analgesic medications are discussed. The author emphasizes that the proper and safe alleviation of acute pain in the pediatric population is not only feasible but is currently the standard of care in the United States.