Abstract
This paper explains why participatory action research (PAR) could be so important in helping the children of the urban poor, and those who work with them, generate relevant insights into their specific needs and priorities and help them influence decisions that are taken about their lives. The paper begins by discussing the problems facing children in urban areas of the South and why more participatory research approaches which work with children have come to the fore. It then describes what participatory action research is (and is not) and why researchers and the institutions that fund them have difficulty in supporting such a research approach, especially in relation to children. The paper then addresses the three main implications for researchers who want to use PAR with children: taking responsibility for the children’s needs and priorities within the research; balancing participation and mediation; and ensuring the research helps to negotiate more spaces for children in their environment and more power in their relationship with the state and society.