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AIBU?

AIBU to think parent and child parking....

110 replies

Maursh · 03/10/2011 22:35

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

OP posts:

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Arachnophobic · 04/10/2011 00:20

OP clearly you are not on here much and now sadly have found out that this subject touches a nerve and your thread has been hijacked by the regulars.

I find it so yawn-some that a not-so-regular comes on here with a genuine gripe and effectively gets flamed for it by the mumsnet addicts with no lives regulars.

Get a life people FFS.

WelliesinJune · 04/10/2011 00:31

Erm, is anyone else concerned by the post which suggests leaving the 7 month baby in the car whilst going shopping??!!

middleagedPeteDohertyfan · 04/10/2011 00:41

No, everyone else knows it's a joke

youarekidding · 04/10/2011 06:58

worra My morning coffee is all over the keyboard now.

Andrewofgg · 04/10/2011 07:46

Raves from the graves!

QuietNinjaFotherMucker · 04/10/2011 08:13

I don't understand why you'd take the car seat out? They have trolleys with flatter seats for younger babies. Poor ds was shoved in one of them on top of a blanket in the hope it might make it marginally more comfortable. He survived. Fwiw I don't use p and c spaces cos Theyre always full. So I park miles away and make ds walk. Tis good exercise don't you know.

valiumredhead · 04/10/2011 08:25

When ds was little I can't recall ever parking in a parent and child space - I wonder how we coped?

4madboys · 04/10/2011 08:27

we we have 5 kids and we rarely use the parent and child spaces, we have a toddler, a baby and 3 elder children and still manage to negotiate parking and getting into the supermarket safely walking across the carpark!

btw some trollies now have a bit where you can attach the carseat onto the top, rather than those hideous plastic baby seats (which i always pad out with a blanket if i have to use) so that may be why they take the carseat in with them?

Sirzy · 04/10/2011 08:29

Those car seat holders are the most stupid, dangerous idea. I am sure you need to be about 8ft tall the be able to see over it clearly!

4madboys · 04/10/2011 08:34

well i am 5 2 and can see over the top, tho ihave seen some that are high up and they have a strap.

but tbh i often just balance the carseat on the middle of the trolley, it seems to fit quite snugly and then i chuck the shopping in underneath

Andrewofgg · 04/10/2011 08:38

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

BatsUpMeNightie · 04/10/2011 08:40

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!

toddlerama · 04/10/2011 08:42

oh just key their cars. They'll learn.

MothInMyKecks · 04/10/2011 08:50

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

WelliesinJune · 04/10/2011 10:09

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.

ggirl · 04/10/2011 10:11

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

ClartyScutter · 04/10/2011 10:13

has anyone mentioned fat kids yet?

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

aldiwhore · 04/10/2011 10:15

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.

gordyslovesheep · 04/10/2011 10:16

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 :)

ChaoticAngelofSamhain · 04/10/2011 12:20

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

LoveBeingAMummyAgain · 04/10/2011 12:23

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

TandB · 04/10/2011 12:26

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....

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BlueberryPancake · 04/10/2011 12:28

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....

worraliberty · 04/10/2011 12:31

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.

heather1980 · 04/10/2011 12:32

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.

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