To think that this has reached a whole level of insanity....

[zeezeek]

I went to the supermarket today with my step-grandson - who is just over 1y. My DDs stayed at home with my step-daughter. As mine are perfectly capable of walking across a car park I tend not to park in the P&C spaces. However, I did today - mostly because the car park was really busy and it was one of the few spaces near the entrance, the baby was asleep and I was in a bit of pain with my leg.

When I got back to the car I met someone who I know vaguely, but well enough for her to know that I've got two DDs and that the youngest was 5. She decided that as the baby was obviously not mine I was, therefore, not entitled to use those spaces as they were PARENT and child.

WTF?

[BenLinusatemyhomework]

Haha what a loon!

Some people are just hard of thinking, it's not their fault, ignore... Or have fun with it and tell them something outrageous like "actually he is mine, I had a concealed pregnancy, didn't know I was pregnant till I nearly delivered him down the loo. Ain't life strange". And then enjoy the look on their face as they try to work out if you're serious.

[StillStayingClassySanDiego]

What response did you give her? .

Stupid woman, not you of course.

[DanielCraigsUnderpants]

Does she expect people to produce birth certificates on occupying the space?

[wiccamum]

What utter fuckwittery this is! Dear sweet lord, what is wrong with people. I suppose she would expect Grandparents who are taking their grandkids out for the day not to park there either? loon.

[sooperdooper]

What utter nonsense, is she usually a loon?

[willconcern]

I hope you gave her a [doughnut]

[Andrewofgg]

You're a parent and he's a child so what's the issue?

That's pedantic but not as pedantic as she was. Such nonsense!

[diddl]

Are they actually labelled as parent & child?

At our nearest supermarket the sign is an adult holding a child's hand.

Was she trying to make a joke?

[Giratina]

She really needs to get a life if that's all she has to worry about. WTF indeed.

[Purplepixiedust]

Priceless 😁

[BarbaraofSeville]

Seeing as the spaces are for getting small children safely into the supermarket and ease of getting them in and out of car seats, I would have no objection to anyone with a small child using them.

But of course, for the benefits of the pedants with too much time on their hands out there, they all need to be relabelled as 'parent/carer/other responsible adult and child under X years' spaces, where X represents a sensible upper age for said child in case people like me get any silly ideas about using them aged 42 when shopping with my pensioner DM.

Would she have been OK with you using them, had you had your own DD with you in addition to DSGC? WTF difference does it make?

[zeezeek]

I was speechless - unfortunately couldn't get onto MN quickly enough to get a suitable reply - so just stood there listening to her tirade and thinking wtf?

I don't really know here well enough to know whether she is normally like that. Her DS is in my eldest DD's class so I occasionally see her around the town or at school. My DH, who takes the girls to school more regularly than I do, said that he often gets comments from her about how wonderful he must be by helping me out with the girls his daughters duh.

I rarely even notice whether the people parking in those spaces even have children with them, let alone whether the children are their own. Utterly bizarre.

[PerspicaciaTick]

It's a big problem - people borrowing children just to have a go in the P& C spaces. We must guard against these fraudsters who are exploiting our children for their own nefarious ends

[Andrewofgg]

Barbara Your plan is good news for the people who make the paint!

[zeezeek]

Dammit. My subtle plan to park in P&C spaces for my own nefarious reasons and not because I had sleeping baby in mahoosive car seat and sore leg issues has been foiled!

[Andrewofgg]

I suppose if a couple have a grown-up son or daughter and either has a mother or father living one is a parent and one is a child!