Separated parents who co-hold parental rights have been scratching heads since new regulations affecting them were published yesterday.

The regulations dated April 7, 2020, set out where the children of separated parents may reside during the lockdown period Lowvelder reports.

Shani van Niekerk, a senior associate at law firm, Adams & Adams, explained that this is one of the ways in which government seeks to limit the spreading of the Covid-19 virus, as well as the extent to which minors are exposed to the virus.

Van Niekerk said that, according to the amended regulations, the movement or transportation of a child from one parent to another is generally prohibited. The exceptions to this rule appear in the image above.

This relaxed the previous position in terms of which children were to stay with the parent with whom they were at midnight on March 26, until April 16.

Both van Niekerk and her colleague, attorney Courtney Sarah Elson, alluded to the impact the chopping and changing of regulations has on the emotions and sense of security of both children and their parents.

“We trust that important role players, such as the Office of the Family Advocate and leading child psychologists have been consulted in culminating what is hopefully, now, the latest adjustment in these unsettling times,” Elson said.

Van Niekerk stressed that parents must explain the implications and consequences of the virus to their children. “A wide spectrum of electronic and social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Skype and Zoom can be utilised to ensure that children keep in contact with the parent where they are not residing during this period,” she said.

Elson concluded that “the best interests of children remain paramount and justify a reasonable and well-considered change of course when necessary.”

• While attending an international conference on family law, van Niekerk came across a book and film that addresses the effects of separation and divorce on children. Click here for her comment on Tommy and Tiger Terry: An empowering tool for children and parents of divorce. 

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