After 16 years without a social life, I had to rediscover friendship in my 40s

A dinner with former colleagues did more than ease Ms Daphne Ling's fears of being an outsider after years immersed in parenting. It gave her the confidence to open up to others again.

The demands of parenting young children can make maintaining relationships outside the family more difficult. (Illustration: CNA/Li Lyn Tan)