4 Core Needs of Infants and Toddlers

Core Needs of Infants and Toddlers

All infants/toddlers have four core needs that parent/caregivers must meet for their children to reach their full potential.

Assessing Children’s Core Needs

CASAs gather information about children’s circumstances by conducting objective examinations of their situations, relevant histories, environments, needs, and relationships. Children’s safety is the first priority during these observations.

To identify the needs of young children, it is also important to gather information that helps you understand the relationships children have with their parent/caregivers. Understanding their relationships helps you determine what ways children’s needs are met by the parent/caregivers.

Because the quality of children’s primary relationships have a substantial impact on their social, emotional, and developmental well-being, it is important to consider the strength of the emotional connection between children and their parent/caregivers.

In many cases, children’s core needs are not being met. When assessing possible placements, a developmental and ecological systems perspective (see Introduction for an explanation of these perspectives) can be used to understand the impact of parent/caregivers on children’s development and help facilitate decisions that are in the best interests of the children.

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