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This paper postulates that a child is a human being whose rights are guaranteed under the law, and as such, the rights must be respected and promoted. Parents have moral and legal duties and obligations to provide their children with love and care, most importantly, to ensure their children's best interest. Under the law, the inherent rights of a child are not negotiable; hence they must be maintained by both parents depending on their financial circumstances. This responsibility needs to be discharged with love and care. However, it is unfortunate that some parents are not committed to discharging this responsibility without force; hence the Maintenance Act of 1998 was enacted to assist the system in managing and enforcing compliance by the parents toward their children. Consequently, the duty to support a child does not discriminate against an illegitimate child when maintenance issues are being processed. All children are eligible to be maintained regardless of their parent's marital status during birth. The courts must enforce compliance through maintenance orders to ensure that children are well taken care of until they are self-sufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implementation of transformative child maintenance interventions in South Africa specifically addressing maintenance issues and the significant role the judiciary is playing in the interpretation and delivery of judgements in maintenance related matters. The paper accentuates that parents have an obligation to provide for their children and the obligation is continuous until the child attained adulthood and self-dependency even if the relationship between the parents is no longer in existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]