I don't even consider it "middle-aged"........but that's probably because I'm 48 and my husband is 53 and our only child is 10.
I realize this is the UK, but for crying out loud, this is downright scary.
No doubt they have friends on the Council.
Damn, I am turning 56 and my daughter, who I am rearing alone since I am a widower, is 11. I would not make it in the land of my birth.