hello..
Please have a look at this sentence:-

When parents buy their children a moblie phone,they imagine them on a street corner somewhere, needing to phone home.

Can one use "needing" in the -ing for?
Thanks

Yes, all verbs, including stative ones like "need," can appear in the –ing form when used as present participles, functioning as adjectives, as in your example.

You are most likely thinking of verbs such as need, want, understand and know, which, when used as main verbs, usually don't appear in a progressive form. However, they are used as participles, as in these examples from Google:

"¢ The Dachshund Rescue Web Page maintains listings of Dachshunds needing homes, breed information and links to rescue contacts. ...
www.drwp.net/needhome.html

"¢ internet marketing tips for companies wanting internet marketing. uk search engine company specialising in website optimisation & ...
www.internet-marketing-companies.co.uk/index.phtml

"¢ But she also thinks that some voters will be turned off, knowing that lawyers and observers from both parties will be watching over the voting in selected polling places.
www.gurunet.com

Rachel