The care for infants and small children with wheezing episodes is a challenging endeavor because of the multiple issues involved in identification of patients who need interventions, age-specific methods of administration of medications, use of appropriate medications, and lack of objective measures to diagnose or assess disease control. Two fundamental questions need to be addressed in the treatment of young children with wheezing. The first is whether the young child with wheezing has a diagnosis of asthma or is a child with transient wheezing. This distinction is important because the response to medication is different in the two conditions. An approach to distinguish these two populations is discussed in the article on the natural history of asthma. The second fundamental question, asked once the diagnosis of persistent asthma is made, is considers when is it appropriate to start controller therapy.