To be annoyed at everyone who uses the parent and toddler parking who shouldn't?

[sunshinemeg]

I am prepared to be told I am being a twat, but it's really bugging me.

So many people get angry (quite rightly so) at people who are not disabled using disabled parking spaces. However it seems so many more people use the parent and toddler spaces who really shouldn't.

The signs variously state
-for parents with children under 5
-for parents with children in pushchairs etc

Why do I see people park with their children who then jump out and walk off without a pushchair, it drives me mad, especially when I am struggling with a 6 month old and limited space to open her car door or get a pushchair remotely close enough!

Disabled spaces should not be compared to parent and child spaces.

I agree. But they always get dragged up anyway in these threads.

I witnessed a lady parking in parent and child spot with her adult daughter. Someone was kicking off that this was against the rules. The fact that the daughter clearly had been in an accident and was in a cast and bandages was irrelevant.

This person would not have been eligible for a blue badge, but was still trying to carry on with day to day life.

Surely some situations trump having a toddler.

Hi Cantbelieve, ive got 5 month old twins and couldnt agree more! Park further away and carry the babies all the way from the back seat of the car to the buggy (by boot of car). Simples. (Tbh did park in parent/child parking when preggers with twins tho. Such a huge lardy whale and couldn't open door wide enough in normal space to get out and struggled to waddle to shop). Its unlikely that anyone who dared challenge me would have survived, was v grumpy last few weeks!).

I would never park in a disabled parking space under any circumstances but have no qualms parking in a parent and child space whether with my child or not. I understand the issue of the space betwen the cars but what aobut people who are overweight and need the space also - there are no special spaces allocated for them!

And as for children running out into the car park - well control them better...

Much easier to control them in a p and c spot though

I park in them if the disabled bays are full or if they are nearer to the shop than the disabled spaces. I've got a blue badge.

Being fat and lazy doesn't count

Ah mintyy don't feel left out you are welcome here too.

the rules= ha ha

How about being thin and lazy.

That should count.

Just throwing this out there but my mil wants to have my new born ( 3 hours old) for a week. My dh thinks that's fine as he wants us time and sex.

My mil is a drunk and habitually parks in mum and toddler spaces.

She also has a cat that poos regardless in the neighbours garden and 4 Rottweilers.

Aibu to say no.

Oh too much mumsnet this week peeps.

I am a grandchild-minding granny with two toddlers. I use the parent and child space as it is nearer the trolley park, so I don't have to leave them alone in the car for too long while I fetch the trolley. I can use the extra space at the sides to lift them straight from seat to trolley without fear of them making a dash for it into the path of other cars. I also have a disabled husband in a wheelchair, and when I am out with him use the disabled spaces. If I had to give up one of these, it would be the disabled space, as there is only one of my husband,and he can't run off.

if I have the person I care for with me(BB) I will use what space I want.
If a mummy with a tot complains I will give them a death glare and ignore.

cecinestpasunepipe really!!
you are obviously not really thinking this out............bless

YANBU because you are right that it should be for people with young children under 5 however there are very few on mn that are brave enough to who will agree with you. The argument has been done to death on mn

Having P & C spaces near the shop is invaluable when mobility is compromised by SPD, and you're trying to manage a toddler that you can't push in a trolley or pushchair any more.
It's also useful when trying to get two preschoolers safe through a car park as the route is short and on a visible path, rather than weaving through cars.
If I have a rare chance to go anywhere on my own, I'm perfectly happy to use my legs and walk from a quiet area.

Online shopping isn't a solution for my family as I need to visit various shops for allergen friendly items, and some of those are from shops without an online service.

Would it be acceptable for someone to go and sit in a parent/ baby breastfeeding room in say mothercare. Just because they felt like a rest

Yes. Next question?

And while everyone copes without them when not available and they didn't have them in the 70's (when the world of cars and roads were v different anyway)

Irrelevant comparison. They didn't have them in the 90s, either. In fact, guess what, maddening. even today there are loads of car parks with no parent/child spaces AT ALL and people with children manage.

And you have a very weird concept of what was going on in the 70s. It wasn't all mini cars and dirt tracks, you know.

They didn't have them in 90s - they are a very new thing. I understand the doors thing- I don't understand why they need to be near the entrance. If they were in a far corner the problem would be eliminated.

You have to be prepared for not getting one- the spaces can easily be filled with legitimate users. You can manage without!

Its a separate issue from disabled soaces, obviously.

But of course you aren't being U o be a bit hacked off at people without kids using them

Not sure why people are getting riled and saying you are U.

And my DD has a blue badge.

Disability spaces are reserved for people who have a disability, which usually means mobility difficulties and /or walking frames, wheelchairs and inability to travel short distances.
People with children are not disabled, they are generally young and healthy; pushchairs are stored in the boot of the vehicle, and it is perfectly easy to undo child seat straps in a normal car parking space.
I have parked in mother/child spaces twice, when there were no other spaces available, and the abuse I received was so extreme that it was necessary to call the security guard. Both times I checked with the store, who said it was perfectly acceptable to park in the space.
Try taking two young children, plus pushchairs and shopping, on the bus to experience real difficulties. And try and show some manners, if not respect,to your elders.

Oh dear. Maybe when people sign up to MN they ought to be given a cheat sheet about perpetual red rag issues. I do enjoy a good P&C thread though.

Look, P&C spaces are a marketing ploy. Nothing more, nothing less. They are not a legal right and not should they be. They do not have the same protection as disability parking and anyone who even alludes to the idea of that needs to be slapped with a wet fish. Very hard. Repeatedly.

There are a multitude of reasons why someone might need a bit more space when parking in a supermarket and having young children is just one of them. It's not one of the better ones though tbh, it's just one of the ones that the supermarket know will act as a good marketing tool, hence why the spaces are supplied.

The solution really is to get rid of the spaces full stop and either make all spaces wider, or turn the existing P&C areas into "spaces for people who need a bit more room". I couldn't give a fuck if that's because you're old, young, fat, thin, whatever.

I have arthritis in my knees and ankles, on bad days I park in the P &C spaces to do the school hobble as they are the nearest to the exit to the car park which doesn't have steps that, on a bad day, feel like the North face of Everest. I could always park on the 'Keep Clear' markings outside school like other 'joint-pain-free' parents do, and make it dangerous for everyone crossing the road. But that would really make me a twat so I wince, piss and moan my way to and from the nearby supermarket. When my DS was a baby and my legs weren't as painful, I used to just park in the first free normal space I came to, then would skip past the taxis, white vans and everyone else without children, parked in the P&C spaces, without a care in my soul!

My local tesco specifies that the p&c spots are for parents with children under 5.
I recently parked in one and went to meet my parents and my 2 year old ds in the shop. When I came out some knobber had left a note on my windscreen saying 'no child in this car' that induced rage in me.