Exclusive North American reliance on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4^th Edition-Revised (DSM-IV-R) to determine diagnoses such as Conduct Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder occurs without sufficient critical regard for its ideologically and historically situated assumptions. The author argues for a parallel theoretical framework to guide interventions that is provided for children's practitioners through ongoing implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Rather than relying solely upon the deficit labelling of the DSM-IV-R with its underlying deterministic beliefs about child development, this holistic, rights-based approach assumes young people to be competent social actors whose lives are worthy of study in their own right. The author draws upon comparative theory within the sociology of childhood, practice insights and three case studies for support.