Why does participation matter? A forces children’s perspective

At the most recent SCiP Conference, we saw children and young people take the floor, commanding the attention of over 100 colleagues in the Armed Forces sector. They spoke honestly about their experiences and challenged assumptions about what support they need. Being in that room was a powerful experience.

Enabling participation for babies, children, and young people from forces families is both critical and challenging. Pride in service, awareness of operational security, and a culture that values resilience and self-reliance can make it harder for children to share their views or feel confident they will be heard.

By offering children and young people a real platform, we can influence service provision and shape policy and legislation for the better. This matters because:

• Participation is a right, not a favour. Too many children and young people report feeling hidden, unheard, or misunderstood.
• It enhances our understanding of their lived experience: Adults don’t know enough about how growing up in a forces family affects children’s education, emotional and social wellbeing, relationships, and resilience.
• It equips adults to respond. Hearing directly from children informs better training and practice across civilian and military sectors, including education, health, community work and military welfare.
• It bridges policy divides. Responsibility for forces children spans across UK and devolved governments. Without children’s voices shaping both national and local policy, their rights can easily slip through the gaps.

Participation and children’s rights

Children and young people recognise participation as an essential need, as outlined in the Forces Children’s Rights Charter: I have a voice, and it is taken seriously.

Truthfully, participation is more than just a provision of the Rights Charter; it is the engine that enables the full spectrum of children’s rights to be realised.

As the leading scholar of children’s rights, Professor Laura Lundy, has argued, child participation is a barometer of children’s rights more broadly. When participation is meaningful and positive, other rights typically follow.

Children who are invited to participate in work that affects them become agents, rather than objects, of change. This is especially important for babies, children and young people from forces families, who often experience major life decisions being made for them in the context of military service.

The Armed Forces context

When it comes to forces families, it’s important to remember:

• A parent’s service, including postings and deployments, profoundly influences children’s everyday lives, including where they live and go to school

• Having a parent in the service can make children feel vulnerable, and participation must not contribute to stigma or feelings of exclusion
• Some children do not want their parent’s service to define their identity or dictate how they are treated
• Education, health, welfare, and housing all have an effect on children’s experiences, and we must ensure that support systems work together
• Children’s pride in their parent’s service or awareness of security implications can make it harder for them to express their views openly.

Meaningful participation goes beyond simply giving children a voice. Their voices must be actively listened to, taken seriously, and acted upon. In doing so, we move from symbolic gestures to real influence, ensuring that the rights and wellbeing of children in armed forces families are realised.

For further insights on how we put participation into practice and champion the rights of babies, children, and young people from forces families, please read our Participation Principles: Facilitating the Meaningful Participation and Engagement of Babies, Children and Young People.