One of the most unexpected reflections emerging across the TOY4Participation project pilots has not only been about young children, but about adults.
ISSA members recently collaborated on a pilot across Europe, which focused on embedding child participation in everyday practice. Across different countries and contexts, many educators, parents, and facilitators described initially feeling uncertain about child participation in practice. Some worried that giving children more influence would create disorder or make routines harder to manage. Others questioned whether young children were capable of making meaningful decisions at all. In some contexts, adults were especially concerned about safety, particularly when working with children with disabilities or children experiencing trauma.
Yet over time, many teams began describing how their assumptions slowly started shifting through observation and practice. In Bulgaria, educators initially found it difficult to give children more autonomy, especially in groups involving children with autism or combined disabilities. The teams began experimenting with small adjustments. Rather than removing structure altogether, they offered children more choices during daily routines; children who struggled during rest time were allowed to begin with quieter activities like reading until they felt calmer and more regulated.
Interestingly, several educators discovered that giving children more space often made the environment feel calmer rather than more chaotic. Research has similarly shown that participation often changes adult-child relationships themselves, helping educators shift from directing children’s behaviour toward observing, listening, and facilitating children’s agency more intentionally (Horgan, 2024).
In Slovakia, among parents who were initially surprised that children were being asked to choose activities for themselves instead of adults deciding for them, facilitators described it helpful to have ongoing conversations with families about what participation actually meant in practice. They explained that participation is not about removing boundaries but creating more space for children’s voices and preferences within supportive routines.
Across several Play Hubs, facilitators also began noticing how quickly adults tend to step in, solving problems, directing activities, or making decisions before children have time to respond themselves. Over time, many teams described becoming more comfortable with slowing down, observing more closely, and allowing children greater space to negotiate, decide, or express themselves differently.
In Ukraine, facilitators noticed that some children communicated comfortably in groups, while others expressed themselves more openly through movement, play, or one-on-one conversations. Rather than relying on one participation method, teams began widening the ways children could express themselves. This reflects growing recognition that young children communicate in many different ways — through movement, play, drawing, storytelling, silence, or routine interactions, not only through formal verbal discussion (Clark & Moss, 2011).
In Zagreb, Croatia, coordinators reflected on how important emotional safety had become for refugee children who had experienced bullying and exclusion elsewhere. Rather than pushing ahead with planned activities involving unfamiliar guests, the team adapted the programme around relationships and trust, a shift that eventually led children onto a public stage during a local carnival performance.
Across the project, many adults began describing participation less as a technique and more as a different way of observing children.
Noticing who speaks first.
Who hesitates.
Who follows others.
Who expresses themselves through movement rather than words.
Who needs more time.
And for many educators, parents, and facilitators, that process has gradually started reshaping assumptions about children’s competence, confidence, safety, and development itself.
References:
Clark, A., & Moss, P. (2011). Listening to young children: The Mosaic approach. National Children’s Bureau.
Horgan, D. (2024). A literature review on methodologies for consulting with children birth to 5 years. Hub na nÓg & Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
