The call from school is one that every parent dreads. A child has developed a temperature, been sick in class or simply isn't well enough to stay, and someone needs to collect them. For many families it's an unexpected disruption to the working day. For single parents, it can become an exercise in impossible logistics.

Who can leave work? Can the hours be made up later? Will taking time off mean losing pay? Is there anyone else who can step in?

Frolo recently asked its community how they cope when a child is ill and work can't simply stop. The responses painted a picture that was both familiar and surprisingly moving. Rather than revealing carefully planned contingency arrangements, they exposed just how much of single parenthood relies on improvisation, resilience and, in many cases, simply hoping everything somehow works out.

One response captured the mood perfectly: "Wing it."

Another parent, widowed with two young children, described "winging it" as their "constant setting". It was a phrase that echoed throughout dozens of comments. Behind every response sat the same reality: when there is only one parent available, there is rarely a straightforward solution.

Many described squeezing work around caring responsibilities rather than choosing one over the other. One parent explained that they worked from home where possible with a sick child beside them before catching up in the evenings. Others relied on flexible hours or understanding employers to bridge the gap. Several spoke with genuine gratitude about managers who simply trusted them to make things work, recognising that children do not choose convenient moments to become ill.

Again and again, respondents referred to themselves as "lucky". Lucky to work from home. Lucky to have an understanding employer. Lucky to work for a small family business. The responses served as a reminder that what makes these situations manageable often has little to do with organisation and everything to do with circumstances outside a parent's control.

Support from family also emerged as a dividing line. Some parents spoke warmly of grandparents who could step in occasionally, even if they lived some distance away. Others had no such option. One respondent explained that they had no partner and no family nearby. Another said both parents had died and the children's father was absent. Others described elderly parents whose own health meant they could no longer help, or siblings who simply weren't in a position to provide childcare.

Without that safety net, the consequences often became financial. Some parents described taking unpaid leave whenever a child was ill, while others worked late into the night to make up lost hours. Rather than finding a perfect balance between work and family, many simply absorbed the extra pressure themselves.

Perhaps the most striking comments, however, came when the conversation shifted away from poorly children altogether. Several parents admitted that the bigger fear was what happened when they became ill.

One father reflected that the real challenge wasn't a sick child but trying to keep everyday life moving when he himself was unwell. School runs, meals, housework and the endless practicalities of parenting didn't pause simply because he needed to recover. Another parent recalled having surgery and being unable to manage the school run, eventually asking other parents for help. "It was embarrassing going cap in hand to people I barely knew," they admitted.

Those responses highlighted something that is rarely acknowledged in conversations about single parenting. Independence is often celebrated, but it frequently comes at the cost of having nobody to fall back on. When there is no second adult in the household, even minor illnesses can expose just how fragile the balancing act really is.

Reading through the comments, there was remarkably little self-pity. There were no dramatic complaints or impossible demands. Instead, there was a quiet acceptance that this was simply part of life. Some relied on grandparents, some on employers, some on neighbours and some on nobody at all. Each had found their own way of making it through, even if that meant sacrificing income, working into the evening or asking for help when they would rather not.

The responses also challenged a common assumption about single parents: that they have somehow mastered an extraordinary level of organisation. In reality, many are simply becoming experts at adapting. They make difficult decisions quickly, absorb the stress privately and keep life moving because there is no alternative.

If there was one clear conclusion, it wasn't that single parents have discovered the perfect way to cope when a child is ill. It was that they rarely have the luxury of stopping. Whether the solution is flexible working, unpaid leave, help from grandparents or simply "winging it", the responsibility ultimately rests with one person. Somehow, day after day, they make it work.

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