Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is purportedly the only L2 pedagogy rooted in SLA theory and research and is unique in its psycholinguistic, ecological and pedagogical validity. Theoretical entities such as Processability Theory (Pienemann & Lenzing, 2020), the cognitive-interactionist approach (Gass & Mackey, 2020), and emergentism (O'Grady, 2008) undergird TBLT. Overarching the pedagogy is the metatheory of Complex and Dynamic Systems Theory (Sabah, 2018). Nevertheless, empirical studies on TBLT, especially those on children, seldom engage with the full range of these theoretical entities. An emerging trend in this research domain is that one theoretical entity in particular, the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996), has been used to frame studies (e.g., Azkarai & Oliver, 2019) and to interpret the results of studies (e.g., Newton & Bui, 2017) on TBLT for young L2 learners. This forum will explore the extent to which theory has played a role in empirical research on TBLT for young L2 learners and highlight opportunities that exist for future research. To begin, the most relevant theoretical entities to TBLT will be introduced. This theoretical background will set the stage for the subsequent section--a review of three empirical studies on task-based learning with young L2 learners: Newton and Bui (2017), Zhu (2020), and Azkarai and Oliver (2019). Then, the three studies are discussed with regard to the role theory plays. Finally, some trends that come to light through the review of the studies are identified, and arguments are made vis-à-vis the need for more theory-driven, principled approaches to the empirical research on TBLT with children.