[Angus]

Well I never set out to be a single parent; I got married, had two kids, and endured several years of domestic abuse till I finally left when my kids were aged 5 and 8. It was a hard slog as I had no financial support from my ex, and no moral support from family, my parents being dead and my siblings married and living far away, but it was also the most rewarding and challenging thing I ever did bringing up my boys and being both mum and dad to them. They are now aged 22 and 25 respectively and are both in full time work, with their own homes, own lives and own responsbilities. I think I did the best job I could, and they both tell me they had happy childhoods - we three are still very close as we were such a tight family unit for so long.

Not all single parents are feckless, sponging, teenagers: A lot of us are self supporting, responsible people who find ourselves single parents because of divorce, bereavement or whatever, and do the very best we can in difficult circumstances. It's not the quantity of parents that counts, it's the quality of the parenting.