Childhood is the most important developmental phase of an individual’s life and is significantly influenced by one’s environment. A key influencer of development is access to clean water. Access has improved drastically since the dawn of democracy in South Africa. However little focus has been afforded to three key factors related to access, source of water, how far households must travel to gain access and the quality of water households receive. Using data from the 2006 and 2011 South African General Household, comparisons of households with and without children under the age of 5 are made. Findings note overall improvements; however households with children under the age of 5 years continue to experience lower levels of service delivery. As we transition to a new era, post-Millennium Development Goals, the developmental objectives need to be viewed holistically to ensure the essence of development is met.