To get infuriated by people mis using parent and child spaces?

[nothingbyhalves]

It's all in the title really. A woman just told me she had parked in one because she had a dog in her car. Aibu to think she is inconsiderate?

The problem is that you don't know who is able bodied or not but it doesn't matter how many times I say it, you're probably going to continue to judge the spritely looking young person as completely healthy without any information whatsoever.

I am not disputing that these spaces are misused but you genuinly can't tell if someone is disabled by looking at them.

My son looks like any other 4 year old, most of the time acts like one but his asthma makes every day a struggle for him.

Can a mother in a 4x4 not have a disability herself? (Not sure how you know she's a mother when she has no children with her anyhow).
Do young lads with hidden disabilities not smoke or blast music?
The judgmental assumptions on here would be laughable if they were not so misguided.
Note to self: according to mumsnet, disabled people do not drive 4x4's, are not young males, do not smoke or blast music.

I am well aware that lots of people using P&C spaces do not have hidden disabilities or genuine reason for not parking elsewhere, but I still think you can't decide who the genuine people are based on ridiculous assumptions. I also think that going out tackling people about misusing the spaces can potentially lead to a genuine person feeling guilty.

Everlong I am an older woman in a 4x4 - you may well see me pull into a P+C space (should one be available given they are a nice convenience) get out without kids and do a shop

you may not stay long enough to see me then meet their dad, buy my three children a cake - have a coffee then load them into my car - as we often do during access hand overs

I do have children - they are using the space

Everlong I am totally sure there are people using them with no disability, no real need apart from they are nearer the shop door, maybe people who think why should people get spaces just as they have children, or just don't care.

I know this might be a bit annoying but the alternative is only parking a minute or so walk further away.

When I go to the shops, maybe one in twenty times the space is free, probably as there loads of people with children and not that many spaces. You cant rely on them at all. And really, people dont NEED to rely on them. But its not entitled to use them, or find them convienient.

Im sure there are people with babies who have various problems that mean they are very very useful, but around here you would be totally buggered as most places have 5/10 spaces in HUGE carparks, and therefore you could never rely on it.

P&C spaces aren't about being closer to the store, they're about having the space to get car seats (which we didn't have in the crap old days) and children out of the car safely (meaning Mum or Dad have to stand there at the open door cos they're only 3 and too little to do it themselves). If your supermarket has squeezed in so many spaces that people can't get in and out comfortably from their car, try a different supermarket. You will not miss Tesco points (I knows you think you will, but really, you won't. You're paying extra for them). I've found much to my delight that every other supermarket has such decent size spaces I don't need P&C and if Tesco can't be arsed being less greedy and looking after me and my kid better they obviously don't want me buying food, toys and clothes there for the next 16 years then, do they.

Yes making all spaces a bit wider would be a much better solution wouldnt it.

Went shopping on weekend with Dd and 3 month old Granddaughter. Parked in parent and child.
Came out of shop with food, was putting it in boot. Dd was changing baby inside and I got a bloody mouthful from a woman waiting for a space there about not having a child with me. Ignored her totally. Went back in shop after loading car to have coffee before going home and so Dd could feed baby - passed woman as I was pushing the pram on way out afterwards- smiled nicely at her and went on my way.
Hope she felt like a muppet :)

Ever where has anyone said nobody abuses the spaces? People are simply saying it isn't as easy as looking at someone and knowing if they are abusing the space or not.

just a question - why take very young children shopping? When my 2 children were young in the 80s/90s I used to do my fortnightly supermarket shop in the evening after dh got home from work and he would put dcs to bed. Know not everyone has a partner/support but does save a lot of hassle. Day to day stuff bought locally and walked there. P & C spaces were not invented then and evening shopping was still a novelty!

The thing is though, they aren't meant for disabled people or for those who, whilst not sufficiently disabled to get a Blue Badge, may have difficulties getting close enough to the store.

My ds is registered disabled on the highest rate of DLA Care and receives Mobility Allowance. As I say, he had a badge for 6 years. Now, he's not bad enough. I would NEVER use a P&C space for just me, but I'd use it again, if I needed to, with ds.

If he gets higher rate mobility he is automatically entitled to a blue badge Eliza - you don't need to deal with all the council crap

They may not be meant for those people but it would be a pretty horrible person who begrudged someone using one in those circumstances.

The thing is though, they aren't meant for disabled people

It doesn't really matter who the P&C spaces are intended for because there is no law saying that they can't be used by anybody who chooses to use them.
I don't ever use P&C spaces because my youngest child is no longer a toddler and my eldest child has a blue badge and when I'm with him I use a disabled bay. If he wasn't entitled to a blue badge then I would find it difficult to go out (more difficult than it currently is) and I would be tempted to park in the nearest space to the entrance that I can legally park in, which would be the P&C spaces.
I wouldn't care that a mum with a newborn wants the space and is peeved at my actions because I have had newborns and I know that I would need that space much more than the mum with a newborn. Going out with newborns or toddlers is a doddle in comparison to an older disabled child.

There is a difference between doubting and knowing. Young people who smoke and drink can also have disabilities you know!

My local sainsburys has the extra wide spaces too (called comfort parking spaces), funny enough they are always half empty as the parents of little ones would rather wait for a P&C space which are near the door (the comfort spaces are further away).

Everlong- were you just sat there watching him the whole time, checking to see if he had dropped somebody off, was collecting somebody or was just enjoying blasting his music whilst taking up a previous parent and child space?
If you were then maybe you should get a job with MI5, those investigative skills would be very useful......or just get a life and stop worrying about a boy racer type parking in a space that he didn't need.

So you know the full medical history of his mates too? Your clever!