Despite the increased risks and vulnerabilities that children and young people face due to the Coronavirus (covid-19), they are also some of the most active in their participatory responses to this global emergency. Drawing on transdisciplinarity, this paper considers how covid-19 has opened up new spaces and opportunities for the participation of children. For example, young people across the globe have been actively involved in raising digital awareness about covid-19, participating in environmental activism, and engaging in unique educational opportunities. While children and young people are often constructed as vulnerable, innocent and in need of protection, this pandemic reveals that they can transcend these adultist constructs.