Imogen's Story

Sleep deprivation will make you desperate. In episode five of Flying Solo, Lynda Chanwai-Earle meets a solo-parent who's in the majority - 33 year old Pakeha mother Imogen and her 4-year-old son Manea.

"There have been moments - especially when my son was quite young - he'd be lying there crying, and I'd just be so exhausted. Just not having that second person ... lying there crying in front of your baby. You desperately need to have a break and you just can't."

Exhaustion is the biggest challenge for any new parent with a baby, let alone single, working parents.

Thirty-three year-old solo mum Imogen Alcorn is incredibly grateful for her supportive family and friends. She says that without them, she doesn't know how she would have coped.

Born in Wellington, Imogen is the third of four siblings whose parents separated and later remarried. As a teenager, Imogen was raised by a sole parent, her mum Robyn, a community worker with four kids to care for.

Imogen had her son when she was 29 and has been his primary care giver since he was born.

"I'm the mother of a beautiful 4-year-old son, Manea," says Imogen. "Manea was born in 2012, the Year of the Water Dragon. We call him our little taniwha." She adds hopefully "fierce children, but apparently wonderful adults that look after their parents."

Imogen and Manea recently left a busy flat in inner city Newtown to live with her dad, Andrew Alcorn. It's a warm, delightfully artistic, sprawling home in Eastbourne, on the other side of the harbour.

Manea loves living with Poppa Andrew but he misses his previous home and flatmates. Their old home was close to other families, playgroup, the zoo and most importantly close to Massey University, where Imogen is completing her final year of a Bachelor of Social Work.

When Imogen graduates, she's keen to be an entry-level social worker in the areas of sole-parenting, sexual violence or mental health sectors.

It's the social hub of Newtown that Imogen misses. "We were pretty involved with the community, and Newtown's a really lovely place to be when you're solo-parenting. I'd still be in Newtown if I could afford to be."

Why the move? "Our rent went up and trying to fill the rest of the house was a struggle. It's hard to find people that you want living with your kid, and it's hard to find people that will put up living with your kid. When our rent went up, I thought I can't do this anymore."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details