Pneumonia is usually the most commonly treated disease in paediatric respiratory departments, but we have recently noticed an interesting trend. The COVID-19 pandemic has put hospitals under great stress, but we have seen a sharp drop in paediatric respiratory patients in 2020 in a number of Chinese hospitals. According to colleagues at Qingdao Women and Children's Hospital China, the number of children visiting the respiratory department in the first half of 2020 was approximately half the number seen during the same period in 2019. There is no doubt that this phenomenon is being driven by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As physicians, we now wonder what factors are at work, as the pandemic appears to have benefited children in some respects. It is hoped that our findings may serve as a reference for pediatric clinicians.