Wherever possible, healthcare decisions should be made in consultation with those they affect. For example, decisions about treatment options and treatment plans will require a discussion of the available options and consideration of the risks and benefits of each option. To facilitate this, healthcare professionals need to be good listeners and be able to facilitate these conversations with children and young people, their parents and the parents of babies and very young children. However, there may be circumstances where children and young people, or the parents or carers of babies and young children, wish to leave the final choice of treatment to their healthcare professionals, and although this in itself is a valid option, it is important that their preferences and values are taken into account. This review aims to establish how children and young people, and the parents and carers of babies and young children, prefer to be involved in planning their healthcare and making informed, shared decisions about their health.