Humans' participation positively impacts society and individuals, suggesting that children's participation in activities carried out in supportive environments promotes positive health and the development of key capacities. COVID-19 abruptly changed the daily lives of children and their caregivers due to the general duty of home confinement with consequences for participation. This study focused on the participation of children attending preschool and elementary school during COVID-19 confinement in Portugal. Participants (175 caregivers) completed an online survey based on Picture My Participation! (PmP; Imms et al. 2014). Three case studies with children were conducted using PmP. Results showed good levels of participation in daily activities, with the school-aged children participating more (frequency and involvement) than the preschool-aged children; girls were more involved than boys. The caregivers and children had different perceptions of participation, with caregivers justifying these levels based mainly on the children's characteristics, while the children reinforced the importance of the environment in their participation. These results are used to enhance a discussion about different perspectives of participation, highlight the importance of listening to different participants, and emphasise the relevance of the biopsychosocial and transactional perspectives to explain behaviour and human development.