Parking... Child Bays abused!

[KatieChooChoo]

Does anyone else find that cheeky lazy arrogant people abuse the parking bays set aside for PARENTS with YOUNG CHILDREN!!! Young not meaning 22 years old as one pair of loud mouthed lazy pigs once did in front of me.

I see so many people park up in a child bay without a child in site. They toddle into the supermarket to gran a few bits, so use OUR bays for their convenience.

The supermarket i use regularly only have 15 parent and child bays and at least 600 other spaces (its a massive store where 'every little helps').

Even lazy transit van drivers pull up in these spaces. I see them trotting back to the van scoffing a pie from the hot counter.

Ive complained about this both in person and via email, im still waiting for a response from my email.

Does anyone else get mad about this or is it just me??

And this is the 3rd thread about this this week.

Seriously, take a valium and calm down.

I agree. The supermarket we use is small so only has about six family spaces. Regularly I see a middle aged man parked in one of the spaces, having watched him a few times I realised he sits and waits whilst his wife does the shopping. She comes out (no children In tow) with a full trolley and loads it all into the car whilst he still sits and waits. I have had to Park in normal spaces further away from the entrance many times because of him and people like him.

Easier said then done when im 6 months pregnant and have a 2 year old.
I was not aware there were other threads of this nature, so that tells me there is an issue with the abuse of parking.
Seriously, consider how people can be offended by your comments and be mindful how your posts come across.

ANOTHER one?!?

Read the threads. The issue is people who think these spaces are anything but a courtesy created by shops to get you to shop there.

Children are not a handicap and neither is being pregnant.

And look to yourself in your last sentence. You sound incredibly entitled and self centred.

But you probably are you wouldn't have started this thread to begin with.

I have no issue with the way I spoke or what I said. I own my shit.

Do you?

You can complain as much as you like.

It's not going to make any difference.

These spaces are not essential. They are just nice to have.
If they didnt exist you would have to park in a "normal" space anyway.

Getting yourself worked up about it is ridiculous. Just park, do your shopping and go home.

New MN campaign.
P&C spaces at the furthest corner of the supermarket car park, with a marked footpath.
Sorted.

And,honestly? 6 months pregnant and a 2 year old?
How do you think parents coped in that situation before these bays existed?

I predict this will not end well at all...

silver how many parents do you think would use them if they were furthest away?

I think that all parent and child spaces should be placed in the furthest away spots. I don't need to be close to the store - there is nothing wrong with mine or my child's mobility (and my newborn will be carried/pushed). What I do need however is more space to get my car seat out.
If they were further away no-one else would want them. Problem solved.

It's certainly not starting well, Drop.

And I feel I've done all of this before...

If you feel this strongly about it, you have the option to campaign to make p&t spaces protected by law. Atm they are a courtesy and in no way enforceable or legally restricted, so although they ask that people use them as intended, there's no law that says they have to.

The only way they could do it, if it's private land, is to issue their customers with a penalty notice for parking not in accordance with their wishes. But a quick google reveals these are often practically unenforceable and besides, would a supermarket choose to alienate one market segment in order to appease another?

What it is pointless doing, in so far as it will change nothing, is ranting about it on here. It's theraputic certainly but won't alter anything. If you want to see change - make change.

Even suggesting that supermarkets move the P&T spaces away from the entrance would help. It's the space that's needed, not the car door to their door service.

Is it really the space that's needed, though?

I don't know, I don't use them because my DCs are teenagers and I shop online, but when I did have a 1 year old and a 2 year old, I managed to get them out of the car with no issues in a normal space?

I often myself walking into the supermarket having parked up in a child/parent spot to remember I don't have my children actually with me.

I think I might be really naughty when my children are older and continue to use them at our supermarket (which has over 20 such slots)as they are so much easier to park in.

Get over it and join the other 4 threads from this week !

Fwiw.. It's not illegal to park in p&c spaces without a child

Just park somewhere else. Nobody is abusing anything Hint: if you you can't park a big car get a smaller car . Hint 2: if you struggle opening the doors park at the back of the car park - there is almost always space.

Tantrums - yes, it really is the space that is needed. I have a three door car, and I physically can't get the car seat out of the car without extra room. The car seat is part of the pram (travel system) so I have to remove it from the car rather than just take the baby.
The extra space is useful but not essential with a little person that can get themselves in and out of the car - just makes life that bit easier.

Having a 2yo I use 1 if they're free and don't worry about it if no sign of one. I really couldn't give a shiny shite about them really they're a gimmick Which seems to create ridiculous amounts of fury

I think so. So many people have big cars these days and spaces are quite tight so unless you're on the end of a row, trying to tie a small child into a car seat through a 6 inch gap is a bit tricky.

I think. I couldn't drive when mine were little so my husband took the car to work and so when it was just me, I had the fun of taking 2 babies (15 months between my two) in a double pushchair, on a bus, with all the stuff you need and wrestle all that plus any shopping I might need, back home on the bus too.

It was like something from the bloody krypton factor . After that, hanging down through the sunroof to fasten them in then slipping in through the boot was like a walk in the park

See, this is why I don't believe in car seats. The just make everyone's life harder. Who needs to save lives when there's parking to worry about!!!

Won't someone think of the parents?

Well, you see, the world would probably be better if people who don't need extra room to open their car doors and a path straight to the supermarket door didn't use them. But I can't get irate about it. Note: I'd include people taking their frail, elderly parents who need help getting in and out of cars to the supermarket and other people who have reason to value the extra wide spaces.

I think people who don't really need the features of these spaces would be much less likely to use them if they plonked them right at the back of the car park. So long as there's a safe path to the door, there's no reason they need to be closer to the door than other spaces. Disabled spaces do, for obvious reasons, need to be close by but parents with children can generally walk (or put their non-walkers in an appropriate carrying device, such as the trolley seat).

You might still get some folks who seek them out because they're crap at parking, but generally it would make them much less desirable. But then we'd get threads and threads of complaints about how they need to be near the shop because people with young children need to be right next to the door for some reason.

Or they could just make the spaces a little but wider generally.

They do.

That's why supermarkets almost always have gin on special offer.

Oh is that why? I thought they were just being nice.

They are. Very.