Crossword Genius

A child needs a bit of love, that's all (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

total

'all' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a child needs a bit of love' is the wordplay.
'a child' becomes 'tot' (term for a young child).
'needs' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'bit of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'love' is 'l'.
'tot'+'a'+'l'='TOTAL'

'that's' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for total that I've seen before include "final answer" , "given by 8 [ADDING MACHINES]" , "Aggregate amount" , "Comprehensive" , "Whole, complete" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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