The role of social support in child welfare policy and practice continues to engender widespread debate. Yet the moral and philosophical underpinnings of this topical area have received less attention in the literature. This is of concern, not least because academic debates on the "politics of identity" have a significant contribution to make to our understanding of self-development and social justice. In this article the authors show how Axel Honneth's account of the "struggle for recognition" can be adapted to invigorate theories of social support. The result is a conceptual framework for reflective practice that can illuminate, and interrogate, the moral and operational dimensions of preventative work with children and families.