Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-214) and index.

Introduction -- 1. The need for ongoing nurturing relationships -- 2. The need for physical protection, safety, and regulation -- 3. The need for experiences tailored to individual differences -- 4. The need for developmentally appropriate experiences -- 5. The need for limit setting, structure, and expectations -- 6. The need for stable, supportive communities and cultural continuity -- 7. Protecting the future -- Appendixes -- Notes -- Index -- About the authors.

What do infants and children really need? In this impassioned dialogue our country's most distinguished pediatrician and most influential child psychiatrist define what every child must have in the first years of life. Cutting through the theories, platitudes, and controversies that abound in childcare advice, the authors, both famed advocates for children, lay out the seven irreducible needs of any child, in any society, They confront the hard questions: Are parents in America and other countries spending enough time with their children? What is the basic time requirement? What is the effect of full-time day care on infants and toddlers? What is the impact of shifting caregivers, of foster care, and of custody and adoption arrangements? Nothing is off limits, even whether or not most children can learn in today's public schools and whether environmental hazards are undermining their healthy growth and development. This short, hard-hitting book, the fruit of decades of experience and caring, sounds a wake-up call for parents, teachers, judges, political leaders -- anyone who cares about the future of children and, therefore, society.