The South African White Paper for Social Welfare (1997:58) acknowledges the importance to children of living in a secure and nurturing family. Nevertheless, many families are unable to fulfil their parenting roles as a result of the increasing pressures in society. One of these pressures concerns the employment of parents. There is an increasing tendency for people to relocate to bigger cities where there are more job opportunities. This then results in many children being left in the care of grandparents or other relatives while the biological parents pursue job opportunities in other cities. The aim of this study was to enhance an understanding of children’s experiences of these voluntary parental absences and the factors that contribute to their resilience during this process. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed and seven primary school children (10-12 years) from Port Elizabeth participated in semi-structured interviews including drawings. Trustworthiness was ensured and data analysis was conducted by using Tesch’s model (in Creswell, 1998). Four themes were derived from the study: Children’s perception of a family, where the participants defined family according to characteristics of (amongst others) care and love; Children’s experiences of living with a substitute family, where there was a process of detachment from biological parents, attachment to the substitute family and present experiences in the new family; Resilience in children, where the participants revealed their ways of coping; and, lastly, Suggestions from the participants on how other children in the same situation could cope.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the latchkey situation on children's relationships. A literature study on the concept `latchkey' children was conducted and it was established that there are only a few studies conducted on the phenomenon. However, most of the literature consulted established that self-care has a negative and positive impact on children's relationships with the self, their parents, siblings, peers and educators. To confirm the findings from the literature study an empirical study was conducted by means of collecting data from three `latchkey' children, three educators and four parents. The empirical research confirmed the findings of the literature study that a latchkey situation has indeed a negative impact on children's relationships with the self and others. The empirical study did, however, not confirm the positive impact of a latchkey situation on children's relationships with the self, parents, siblings, peers and educators. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Guidance and Counselling)

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the latchkey situation on children's relationships. A literature study on the concept `latchkey' children was conducted and it was established that there are only a few studies conducted on the phenomenon. However, most of the literature consulted established that self-care has a negative and positive impact on children's relationships with the self, their parents, siblings, peers and educators. To confirm the findings from the literature study an empirical study was conducted by means of collecting data from three `latchkey' children, three educators and four parents. The empirical research confirmed the findings of the literature study that a latchkey situation has indeed a negative impact on children's relationships with the self and others. The empirical study did, however, not confirm the positive impact of a latchkey situation on children's relationships with the self, parents, siblings, peers and educators. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Guidance and Counselling)