Does child need apple account

Each person should have their own Apple ID and not share another person's. There are several reasons including the fact that when sharing the same ID, it is difficult and in some case impossible to prevent sharing of access to data (just one example is iCloud Photos that the child might inadvertently delete from iCloud and from your device). Also, years from now when you and the child decide to use separate IDs, separating the child's data and yours is difficult to impossible.

You can each have separate IDs and still share selected things via Family Sharing.

The following may help:

Family Sharing and Apple ID for your child - Apple Support

Help your child set up an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Child should have their own Apple ID. See this about using Family Sharing and creating child Apple ID accounts. What is Family Sharing? - Apple Support

The parents will need to set up Family Sharing and create an ID for the child if they are under 13.

If they are over 13, they can create their own account.