To be precise, the issue with children is fixable by having only everyone eligible vote and suffer potential consequences. One of the ways to view this dilemma could be a dictatorship (or a group in the state of evaporative cooling?) arranging re-elections or as an adversary trying to take over the country and decimating those who tried to resist. If >50% people vote against the dictatorship or decide to fight against the adversary, it is overthrown/defeated, otherwise those who voted against it are punished. However, real-life dictators or adversaries would also, respectively, screw something up and deal extra damage to the community beyond taking it over.