The Needs of Children: is there any value in the concept?

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Abstract
Conventional assumptions about how children should be brought up seem no longer tenable in the face of recent trends. Yet policy makers and professionals as well as parents of young children must establish criteria for judging the boundaries of adequacy. Identifying children's needs is one commonly used strategy, which appears both objective and authoritative. But this is deceptive. ‘Need’ statements project decision criteria on to children, and disguise complex implicit assumptions. Four different bases for identifying children's needs can be distinguished. They can be thought of as reflecting: basic qualities of human nature; prerequisites for mental health; processes of cultural adaptation; or conformity with dominant social values. A more explicit specification of the empirical and evaluative basis of judgments about early child rearing is called for.