Our research into meanings attributed by parents to childrens participation in street protests reveal various reasons why children are deliberately taken to protests, even the children who can barely speak. We also looked at parental educational efforts related to the participation in the protests, as described by the parents themselves. The interviews were inspired by the phenomenographic approach. The analysis resulted in a conceptual graph of themes and logical bridges between them. Participation in protests becomes a form of citizenship education, which supplements Diane Rodgers concept of participation by default.