This article explores the ideas about children's participation in decision-making held by government officials and non-government representatives engaged in promoting children's participation in the Philippines. It suggests that the ideas that policy-makers and service deliverers hold about children's participation are heterogeneous, diverse and complex. While adults' attitudes are often presented as serious barriers to children's participation, this study suggests that they are both obstructive and facilitative. A deeper understanding of the range of ideas held by adults, particularly policy-makers and service providers, may be the critical next step in progressing children's participation in a direction that is meaningful for children and influential in terms of policy outcomes.