Children are affected by adult migration, whether or not they themselves move. Yet little attention
has been paid to patterns of child mobility and changing household contexts in South Africa, and the
ways in which these relate to patterns of adult migration.  
Internal migration in South Africa is historically associated with the social engineering and enforced
fragmentation of families that took place under apartheid. In particular, controls on population
movement, together with limited residential rights in cities and other places of economic activity,
restricted the ability of African families to migrate and live together, while dual housing arrangements
allowed for circular movement between urban and rural homes. The term “oscillating migration” was
used to describe mobility between urban and rural areas. Rather than being viewed as physically
bounded and static units, households came to be viewed as straddling these nodes, both of which
could include resident and non‐resident members. Contrary to expectations, there was no substantial
increase in permanent urban migration when the apartheid‐era controls on population movement
were removed (Posel 2006). Instead, temporary labour migration has remained an important
livelihood strategy for many households, and extended and dual household forms have persisted.  
Given the growing interest in understanding patterns of population mobility and migration in South
Africa, detailed studies of internal migration patterns are surprisingly scarce. In particular, little is
known about family migration and the dynamics of child mobility and living arrangements in relation
to adult migration.