Snapped in the parent and child parking

Agree and the kid is growing up to be the same by the sounds of it.

The issue with car seats including the high back booster is that they have sides on them. If you have a small 10 or even 12 year old they have to climb into the seat, to be able to slide in requires the door to open further. I would rather use a p&c space to ensure neither my car or the one next to me got damaged even if my child was trying to take care.

However, with a child 6+ they can be taught to wait and be patient if someone next door is getting their own child in or out.

seize

She sounds like a horrible, selfish, angry and impatient person. When my 12 year old was young enough for me to use P&C spots, it pissed me off no end to see vans and Range Rovers in them, with no child seats.

Sometimes, there would be a mam (or even a dad) getting a baby in, next to a space I wanted. I just pulled up and waited for the few seconds it took to let them finish. I was going shopping, not rushing to A&E with a heart attack victim.

Even if there seemed to be space, a pram could roll, or a small child wander into the parking spot. You were very much not being unreasonable, she very much was and was needlessly nasty, to boot.

All of the people slating you are similarly arrogant, selfish and self entitled as the angry, impatient driver you described.

I'd have just told her to fuck off. Your DC is too young to understand.

It's kind of courtesy to pull your car seat in behind you. But then again I have children who are old enough that there weren't child spaces when they were babies and well as children who are young enough that I used them. I also have a blue badge myself.
The general courtesy is that you pull your car door in towards you so you take up as little space as possible!

Yeah I have always parked at the back of beyond at every supermarket car park I visit. It's a running joke in my family. I get more steps in and no one parks near me.

Because legally up until the age of 12 they have to be in a car seat! And just because this child was able to get out the the seat by herself it doesn't mean that they'd be able to safely get themselves strapped into the car seat!

Nonsense our morrisons clearly says TODDLER and they have pictures of bloody prams. You don't need that bay with someone who a few years later could be driving themselves around!!!

These spaces cause nothing but trouble, I see them as a privilege and not a right as I believe that’s what they are, rules are rules but there’s no need to be impatient if you can clearly see someone struggling.

Not sure why you got some irritated responses to this post @PlaceIntheClouds . This is the truth, if the rule is under 12s then nobody has the right to say otherwise..however she could have just waited. I think maybe op you are just stressed since you do have young kids and you snapped which is understandable. However if her child is under 12 then she has.just as much right to be there (annoyingly). Saying this as a mother of a 2 year old. She was rude though!

No, there isn't a UK law mandating specific rules for parent and child parking spaces in supermarkets. These car parks are private land, and the rules are set and enforced by the landowner or the private parking company they employ, not by the government. Misusing a parent and child bay isn't illegal but can result in a £100 Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for breaking the private parking rules.

Why on earth couldn’t the wait? Sensible to teach them manners.

Same for me

Yabu. A baby is easy to manage as they don't move and run compared to a primary school child in car parks. I wish they'd put parent and child car parking at the back of the car park away from the doors and most of the other cars. However it's a kind thing shops offer as it's not a legal requirement.

sounds like you just made up rules about who should be using them. if it says parent and child then anyone under 16 is a child regardless of their ability - it could be because kids pay less attention to incoming or moving cars and it’s just safer to park in spaces closer to the entrance as a result and it’s not exclusive to needing a wider space to get in and out. stop picking fights esp when other kids are in sight why would you want to put kids through witnessing an argument? get a life seriously.

I'm not just talking about p&c...no headphones bring used, feet on seats, just general disregard for others. In the OPs example, the other user could have just waited for thirty seconds or had her kid get out the other side. I have an autistic child. Not everything is always about SEN. A lot of the time people are just impatient, selfish dicks but we've all become far too scared of reprisals to do anything. I do challenge the examples above.. occasionally I get a fuck off but usually people comply. The long thread on the social contract breaking down is interesting and relevant. The OP was using the space precisely as intended. The other person should have just waited a moment.

My eldest is in his late 30s. I had proper car seats that took effort to strap him in to from the day I took him home from the hospital.

Yes why not go back to horse and carts and to hell with progress!
safety has come on since the good ole days with seatbelts etc , larger cars and proper car seats which need effort to strap kids into to keep them safer.

It's all needless rage.
I'm guessing if you were getting baby into car seat you failed to pull in the door close to your back and it was sticking out into the next bay.
Also guessing that you had them waiting for some time.
Who knows.
But your response about her own child was needless. Shit happens. Doesn't mean you have to throw shit back.

In an ideal world these spaces would only be used for their intended purpose. But it's not an ideal world and there's no law around the use of these spaces.

Some people will seem to use them inappropriately, but they may have valid reasons why they need a larger space or need to park closer to the shop, you just never know.

It's just not worth upsetting yourself over, as you will get a lot of this over the coming years.

And are you for signing up to be the police are you? How are you going to determine if someone has invisible disabilities with a look? Future career as a pip assessor awaits you!

Agree OP , you should only use these spaces if the child needs help fastening seatbelt /needs pram etc. I remember needing those spaces with 3 young children so would hate to take up a space when someone else needed it!!