Advanced practice nurses (APNs) at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are pediatric healthcare providers who integrate principles and theories of advanced nursing with specialty knowledge to provide autonomous, independent, accountable, ethical and developmentally appropriate care in complex, often ambiguous and rapidly changing healthcare environments. Caring for children and adolescents requires culturally sensitive and family-centred approaches to care that incorporate a unique body of knowledge. Family-centred care is an approach to planning, delivery and evaluation of healthcare that is governed by the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships among APNs, health professionals and children/families. The cornerstone of APN practice at SickKids is the recognition of "family" as the recipients of care. By valuing and developing relationships with families, APNs promote excellence in healthcare across the care continuum to optimize the child's and family's physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual well-being. This paper outlines the evolution of advanced practice nursing at SickKids, beginning with the introduction of APN roles in the 1970s and culminating in the current critical mass of APNs who have been integrated throughout the hospital's infrastructure. We describe the process used to create a common vision and a framework to guide pediatric advanced nursing practice.