OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a possible switch from traditional pediatric hospitalization to pediatric medical daycare in Belgium. METHODS: Observational prospective survey was performed in 12 Belgian hospitals during fifteen days in autumn 2010. Characteristics of the patients including main chronic pathology were recorded, as were the cause of the hospitalization (work-up with or without anesthesia, treatment with or without anesthesia, other) and the different acts possibly done. RESULTS: Among the 592 children (<16 years old), 41.3% had a chronic disease. The most common conditions reported were neoplasia-related (61.0%). The main causes to admit daycare were a work- up (46.9%) or a treatment (46.1%). 24.5% of the children underwent anesthesia. 10.0% of all the technical acts performed were neoplasia-related (chemotherapy, blood transfusion…), which means that 90% of the acts were not neoplasia-related and could have be done regardless of any chronic condition. CONCLUSIONS: According to international convention and parental will, traditional overnight hospitalization of a child, if not avoidable, should be as short as possible. If there is no need of special techniques (e.g. O²therapy) or an overnight treatment, a short stay in a pediatric medical daycare unit helps treating children without conventional hospitalization, regardless of an eventual chronic condition.