Julie Jay: One of the hardest aspects of parenting is the lack of alone time

"My 15-month-old has been going through a phase for the guts of eight weeks now, where even setting him down momentarily can lead to cries so piercing only dolphins can hear..."

Pic: iStock

Solitary confinement is a punitive measure meted out in limited circumstances, but as a parent, being on your own is a treat.

Every now and again, when I am in the depths of dishes piling up and washing that needs sorting, I think about the elephants. Specifically, I think about mammy elephants having to endure 22 months of pregnancy to give birth to 200-pound babies. But the real test for these matriarchs comes later, because female elephants can stay with their mothers their entire lives, making the odds of a solitary pumpkin latte slim to none for the world’s largest land animal.