ABSTRACT
The standard way of looking at development problems is from the perspective of the grown-ups. This is hardly a justifiable procedure, considering the fact that the large majority of the world’s population are not adults. This chapter discusses to which extent development problems of children differ from those of adults; subsequently the notion of childhood/youth as a Western invention is brought forward. It shows how the problem of children is often that of being caught in the nexus between an “old” and a “new” world. The chapter addresses the problem of material needs and the urgency of structural change instead of short-term relief-programs. It is clear that the conventional measure of Gross National Product per head is not an adequate way of measuring the satisfaction of children’s needs, even when we limit the discussion to welfare, material needs. China is a prominent member of a group of countries where children are treated well, both in material and non-material terms.
