I coparent my kid with other parents of only children

On an impromptu trip to the beach with my son, Finch, and another mother-and-son duo, I found myself sitting alone at the beach house’s kitchen table. Liz Labby, the other mom, had taken our two 7-year-olds to the fishing supply store to acquire some crabbing gear, allowing me to work without being bothered. This promise to occupy the kids for a couple of hours allowed me and Finch to join them at the beach. 

And later, I’d make sure the kids didn’t crack their skulls open on the jetty rocks while Liz figured out how to use the crabbing gear. I realized in the suddenly quiet moment that we had landed on a kind of co-parenting rhythm between our families and our two only children. This wasn’t just on vacation. We’d become each others’ go-tos for informal and often last-minute childcare swapping. And it was beautiful. This kind of connection and community with another family is what I dreamt of when we decided to have an only child.

Read the full story on Business Insider here.