AIBU to think parent and child parking....

[Maursh]

Should be for parents of young children only.

For the second week running, every parent and child space at my local supermarket has been taken and I have been pipped to the post for one space by someone with school aged children. It really gets my goat. I have one 7mth child and really need the extra width to navigate the car seat and baby. This afternoon I had to park miles away at a spot that was clear from other cars and carry the carseat through carpark traffic all the way in. Another lady with a child in a buggy had to do the same.

The supermarkets policy is children up to the age of 12 but I can't see why someone with a 7 and 10 year old needs that extra space. I think that its particularly rude given that they were also, presumably, were once struggling with a small child too.

AIBU

[DoNotPressTheRedButton]

Is thre a campaign lying?

Good job i;ve already got a thread in MH about agoraphobia becuase I won't be able to go out soon anyway then.

[DoNotPressTheRedButton]

I use it with my 8 year ood on occasion.

He has invisible SN, we can't get a blue badge as the scheme in our borough does not cover autism but I struggle with him without one and sometimes I have to go eg to the opticians.

I also use them with my family when DH is away if we have to go out, 3 of the boys have or are suspected of having ASD but again no blue badge- LRM DLA x 2 but there's no criteria to help people with multiple SN kids.

In a year ds4 will be at school, does the OP really begrudge me the space? I will still need it.

Or does falling through the Sn system mean no help at all?

[HarriedWithChildren]

I agree with OP, it is irritating.
Personally with 3DCs under 5 and another on the way, all being well, I couldn't care less where I park but I do care about having the right trolley (i.e. car seat, recliner, double seater, etc...) near the car and supermarkets cannot have these evenly distributed around the carpark so C&P parking is the answer.
Mothers must be the most lucrative shoppers so they would be fools not to try and gain lifelong loyalty through such gestures.

[Kladdkaka]

Worra I hope to god you were texting your horse to make sure it was coping being left home alone.

[Byeckerslike]

Ha ha worra

[Katiepoes]

We don't have them in Holland either. Maybe we're just better at 'neogotiating' carparks.

[RockStockIsMovingBackToEngland]

Who cares? Don't have them in Spain and it would appear that we all manage perfectly well here. Or is it that there isn't this ridiculous sense of entitlement anywhere else? Funny that.

[LifeIsButtercream]

YANBU - it is inconsiderate to use spaces with extra access when you don't need it.

[ChaoticAngelofSamhain]

[heather1980]

i drive a monster people carrier, have a 1 yr old, a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old and still manage in a normal space.

[worraliberty]

I parked my 4x4 in a P&C space this morning after I dropped the kids at school.

I couldn't be bothered to get out and do any shopping, so I sat and used my mobile phone to order a home delivery.

It was nice and spacious...thus leaving more room for my thumbs to comfortably use the keypad.

[BlueberryPancake]

my local supermarket has solved the problem. They have relocated the p&c parking spots further away from the entrance and there are spaces there most of the time I go.

But now it's the disabled car park spaces that go first....

[TandB]

I want to know if anyone has tried out my helpful suggestion from the last p&c thread. I still maintain that it is perfectly possible to insert a small baby into its car seat through the window, thus removing the need for extra space to open the car door....

[LoveBeingAMummyAgain]

The problem is parking space size rather than p&c spaces.

[ChaoticAngelofSamhain]

There were no P&C parking spaces when my DC were little so I think I should be given one now, as I missed out the fact I don't drive or have a car is irrelevant. I could still leave the DC in it

[gordyslovesheep]

I dislike keeping babies in carseats - poor baby spines - get a sling or carry the thing

and P+B spaces are a marketing gimmick not a human right - most people can manage perfectly well in normal spaces :)

[aldiwhore]

I hate P+C spaces with such venom I refuse to even go there. In my opinion the whole bloody car park should be redesigned at our local superstore. They have pavements that are virtually inaccessible to anyone, trolley parks the wrong way round so you can't actually put your trolley in there unless you scrape the poor unfortunate person's car who's in the space behind it. The one way system, if you stick to the actual bloody signs means you're driving an eternal loop of car park hell. The disabled spaces are blocked by freakin sandwich boards and the whole thing's on a slant so that even with a trolley that actually works you come away needing physio.

Other than that, well. Meh.

[ClartyScutter]

has anyone mentioned fat kids yet?

i missed this last night and love a good game of P&C carpark bingo

[ggirl]

Yanbu
those spots are for people who need loads of space cos of babyseats/prams etc

[WelliesinJune]

Well I might be the only one but I agree with the OP. Yes it's not going to kill you to park in another space and yes the P&C spaces are a privilege. However, they are there to make life easier mothers and children and I don't see why this is a bad thing. Cars ARE dangerous and accidents DO happen. If you have children with you it is easier and safer to park nearer to the store. Perhaps we don't remember what it was like to have an under-1, but discussing it now with my friends some of us remember extreme tiredness, tears, postnatal depression, feelings of being unable to cope etc. And for those with active toddlers it is infinitely easier and safer to have a P&C space near the store than trying to navigate them across a car park. Why can't other people have respect for these facts of life? It's not a huge deal but the point is parents without children/with older children shouldn't use the spaces and the fact that they do is a reflection of today's "don't give a sh&t" society. It's like people who let a door slam in your face rather than holding it open (regardless of whether you are a parent or not) - you will survive and manage to open the door yourself, but wouldn't it be nice if another person actually did the polite thing and helped you out. Parking in a P&C space when you don't need to isn't a huge deal, but it would be the right and respectful thing to do if you didn't. So OP is perfectly entitled to comment on it.

[MothInMyKecks]

OP, don't abandon this thread. Stand up for yourself!
All the regulars have seen this kind of thread time and time again - do a search and you'll see an overwhelming amount flooding back. It's possibly the most boring and pointless topic ever not worth getting het up over.
Now - what do you want to go lugging that enormous and heavy lump of plastic for? No one with a straight spine can possibly walk comfortably with them. Much nicer to take lovely soft baba out and cuddle before using the baby trolleys to lie baby in. Also, P&C places are a bonus, but only that. Not an entitlement. Next time you park, take a quick look around at the BB bay and see the agony and discomfort many shoppers are in. Next, whenever you see someone parking in P&C who you deem as less entitled than you to be there, if it makes you irate, then you're no better than them. Sorry, but it's true. Do what I do and park miles away an extra 20 yards or so away and walk. Makes you feel very virtuous

[toddlerama]

oh just key their cars. They'll learn.

[BatsUpMeNightie]

Arachnophobic I find it beyond yawnsome that some newname has almost certainly posted this on purpose to start a bunfight. Rather puts me in mind of - oh, who was it? Quite recent, bit of a stirrer? On a secret mission.............it'll come to me in a minute!

[Andrewofgg]

Please Miss, I sometimes used them when my DS was a baby and I never gave birth, does that make me a bad person?