Background: The goal of care is to do good, but nurses are often faced with situations where different ethical values are set against each other. When caring for ill children the entire family must be taken into account and at the same time the children must be seen as individuals where autonomy and integrity are respected. Nurses must have an ethical approach and health- and medical care must be provided with the regard to the children's best interest.

Aim: The aim of this study was to illustrate nurses' experiences of ethical situations in the care of ill children.

Method: The method is a literature study with a qualitative method. Nine articles were analyzed using Friberg's five-step model.

Results: Two themes and eight subthemes emerged. The nurses wanted to do their best for the children and act ethically. Various factors had a negative effect on their ability to act in line with their own values.

Conclusion: The result showed that many different factors prevented the nurses from doing what they thought was right. Therefore, many nurses were exposed to moral distress in their profession and to avoid this it's important to know how to handle ethical situations.