The best game is the waiting game.

Chronic dialysis and renal transplantation have been developed over the last three decades of the 20th century. These two forms of renal replacement therapy have revolutionized the fate of children in established renal failure. Yet, chronic dialysis is a serious burden to both the patient and the family and the long-term results of renal transplantation are far from excellent. Moreover, both forms of treatment have serious complications, some of them fatal. It is therefore important to highlight what has been achieved in terms of conservative treatment of chronic renal failure. This paper describes in detail the progress made in this field with special emphasis on the great opportunity to slow down progression from chronic renal disease to end-stage renal failure. Renal replacement therapy can wait in many children and should be postponed as long as possible, ideally until they have reached adulthood.