What even is co-parenting?

I had a conversation this morning about 'single parents' and it got me thinking about whether anybody actually co-parents. Back in the day, the Father would go to work and earn money to support the family whilst the Mother stayed at home and looked after the children. I still agree that this is how things should work, but these days it seems to me that women would rather leave their children with a Nanny and go to work too. I understand that Mum's want the best for their children, but all their children really want is their mum.

I am a stay at home parent, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I would not go to work and use all of my wages to pay for somebody else to bring up my child. (I'm not judging anybody who lives that way, this is just my personal choice.) I wouldn't class myself as a single parent - I live with my Daughter's Dad and he is there for us when we need him. Infact he is a brilliant Father to Amelia and will be to Ezra too.

As a Mum, the list of things that I do for Amelia is endless. I wash, feed 3 meals a day, change, entertain, socialise, comfort, snuggle, cuddle, shop for, teach, take her to nursery, pick her up as well as getting the washing done, putting the dishwasher on, tidying up toys 10000 times a day and so much more. Although there is some things that Paul helps with when he is around, he doesn't HAVE to do it. Whereas as a Mum I am the person who has to do these things on a daily basis for my child. I am the person who has to miss out for the sake of my child and make sacrifices. Is there any families out there which equally look after the children? A man will come home from work and be too tired to do anything around the house - Yet a woman has been running round after her children all day and still has to get everything done before bedtime.

So the question is, what actually is a Dad's role at home? A Dad plays with their children and makes them happy, feel safe and secure and like I said I'm sure most Dad's help out with some of the stuff when they can, but apart from supporting the family there is nothing that they HAVE to do. Although Paul is the greatest Dad for my children, it is me that looks after Amelia and brings her up all of the time and nobody can say different -

So if a man goes out to work and a woman stays at home looking after the children, surely she is a single parent? even if they are living as a family unit. Leave a comment and let me know if you would class yourself as a single parent or if you would say that you co-parent your children.