How do Single Parents Cope?

I have a lot of godchildren. I normally claim 10, but depending on how you count them, it is anywhere between seven and 16. The differences depend upon whether I was actually at the font, whether there was a font at all or just a request to be a 'special adult' (of various names), and whether the request was slightly retrospective.

My latest godson is 14 months old. He is adorable, bright, full of energy, and totally exhausting - which is all as it should be. I love him dearly and enjoy nothing more than greeting him, his parents, and his baby brother to my place for supper. Such an event happened last Thursday.

There was a confluence of two slightly unfortunate events that evening. On the following day, Friday, I had a very important meeting in London which meant I had to leave home at 07.30. I realise this is normal for most people, but I am not good in the morning. I explained I HAD to be asleep by 10, so they needed to leave by quarter to the hour.

On this evening, however, we had agreed that the Dad would cook a rather special meal. As it turned out, this was slightly more complicated, and took rather longer, than I had bargained for. This resulted in him being engrossed in the cooking for a lot of the evening, leaving Mum and me to look after the children. Two adults; two children under two: surely no problem?

If you are thinking that, you have never tried it. As we swapped babies, we managed to allow Godson to pull a candle to the floor, showering glass everywhere. That took a little time to clear up, and Dad had to be dragged from the cooking to help. An accidental jolt knocked something off the wall. There were tears before bedtime as attempts were made to quieten things. They left far later than I had hoped, and with poor Mum looking miserable and guilty, for which there was no need.

So, how did I fare? Naturally, I was fine. I slept like a log (who invented the 'slept like a baby' rubbish?), awoke refreshed, made my train with masses of time to spare, and had a really good day in London. However, on the train back I was reflecting: how do single parents cope? And what should we be doing to support them more than we do?