There is also a wide gap in the potential of children for participation and the limited opportunities presented by society to exercise them. Different societies have their unique perceptions on what childhood means. The reality is that in some societies, childhood is protected and dependent. In others, children have to assume adult roles. Children may have to contribute to the economic well-being of their families.
Some childhoods can even be exploitative in nature.
The childhood of girls is very different from that of boys, even in the same family. The success of democratic societies is dependent on their citizens' ability to participate in the process of decision-making. These skills cannot emerge suddenly at the age of 18 when voting rights are granted. Children have to be given opportunities to participate in matters that affect their lives and the environments they belong to, thus laying firm foundations of democratic citizenship. Childhood is necessarily transient but it is a critical period and its later impact on adulthood imbues it with a certain urgency.