I think for me the big thing missing in this image is the lack of catchlights in the eyes. They seem a little lifeless so to speak. I think Richard made a valid comment about the composition of the photo, but I wouldn't have cropped it as severely as he has. I would have only pulled in the left edge so that the boy is looking into the image.
"Come on guys! I need to know why this image isn't GREAT. What should I have done to improve?"
My opinon?
Your subject is too centered in the frame, for one thing. I'd crop it in significantly from either the left or the right. You'll get a different effect from each side, depending on what kind of mood you want to generate.
Also, the lines in the bricks are too angled for my taste. I'd rotate to get them more parallel to the top and bottom of the frame. Because of the perspective, they can't be perfectly parallel, but I think a little *more* parallel would make them much less distracting, and help them focus more on the child.
0 
