To think that mother & baby spaces are for people with babies & small children?!

[cranberryx]

Parked up at asda before work and low and behold what do I see?

3 vans, an elderly gentleman and a young couple all park up and get out of their vehicles and stroll into asda. Not one car seat, not one small child in sight!

I know it wasn't a busy time (8am) but still, I would be so peed off if I parked up with my little one and couldn't find a space with space to get a car seat out of etc!

Next time I might have a word! Or am I just being a grump!

I think my all-time favourite comment on a Ps&Cs thread (thread number 1,735,400,753,823 if I recall correctly), was 'If I can get three children out of my fanjo, I can get them out of my car in a normal parking space.'

These threads are done to death on MN OP. Just to warn you.

Perfectly ok for those with disabled badges to park in parent and child spaces.

It's also ok for those who are ill, but not ill enough for a badge, to park there. As someone up thread said; they should be priority spaces.

Sadly supermarkets don't have 'dashing to work/in a hurry' spaces. Don't know why cos everyone else seems to think they are entitled to one!!
It was early, chances are they were dashing in and from the sound of things there wasn't a huge queue of anxious parents waiting to park.

yep, what Tidy said. They didn't exist when my children were small. We all survived

Cars were much smaller then. Nowadays cars are bigger but the spaces are the same size.

Teeste: "I have to shuffle in from ages away 3 weeks after a section"

Aha! But being "injured" doesn't allow you to use the P+C. You would only be "allowed" to use it if you had your 3wk old with you!....Therefore - P+C or "priority" spaces SHOULD be available for anyone who feels they need them. Not just people with babies or blue badges.

YY to PP who said they're just a marketing ploy. Sorry but disabled spaces in a supermarket aren't legally enforceable either - you don't NEED to have a blue badge to use them.

At 8 am you can just park a bit further away from the doors so you can get the car seat in ok. People are rushing to work or whatever and not expecting loads of parents with kids in the spaces (although I wouldn't do it). Not a right though more of a perk so keep quiet. You never know, some of them may have mobility issues or a partner in the shop with a baby they need tonload up in a bit.

Does OP seriously suggest she & her "little one" (pass sick bucket) should take priority over the "elderly man"?!

The law on the blue badge holder in a M&P parking? The law would be that they are legally parked there, as would any other car with or without child. There is no law on M&P spaces, but feel free to start a petition.

As for the elderly people parking there, why not? M&P are usually the closest to the shops, and I'd certainly not begrudge someone with limited mobility, or just being plain old, using them.

Nay, an elderly "gentleman"!

I love this 'Priority Space' idea.

Could you IMAGINE how many parking threads we'd have if that was brought in?!?

I agree with whoever has or is about to say (someone always does) : if supermarkets put the P&C spaces right away in a far corner of the car parks people wouldn't misuse them. They'd still have ample space around them to get car seats in and out but they don't need to be next to the door.

Janice Turner, a journalist from The Times, found themselves in. When they went to do their shopping at their local supermarket they parked in a parent and child bay as all the disabled bays were full. However, when they returned to their car they were shocked to find a scrawled note pinned to their windscreen saying: “This is not a disabled space, this is for parents, you stupid old bastards.”.....Although I completely agree with Janice that the note was cruel she is in fact wrong in advising that Blue Badge holders have the right to park in any bay. Although it seems like common sense to let disabled people park in the parent and child bays when all the disabled bays are full it does seem that this is a line which must never be crossed. After this article was published in The Times I received this email from a confused Blue Badge holder.

“Can I park with my Blue Badge showing in a parent and child space if all disabled spaces are full? In our local Sainsbury’s car park I was fined £30 for doing this, which I think is disgraceful, especially as there were plenty of mother and child spaces free. I read in The Times that for disabled people to park in parent and child spaces is quite legal and I should not have been fined. I paid the fine, unfortunately, as I did not know this! But can you tell me what the legal position is on this?”

The legal position is quite simple. Off-street car parks can have spaces for pink Sherman tanks if they want and if they put up the proper signs they can charge you if you park there with any other vehicle. Therefore disabled people without children cannot park in the parent and child spaces.

This is from an article www.disabilitynow.org.uk/article/not-all-childs-play about whether disabled people should be fined for parking in parent and child spaces - it seems absolutely insane to me to fine disabled people for parking in one of these spaces, but it seems that supermarkets can fine.

FGS. Get over it. At 8 am the car park tends not to be full of mothers and babies staggering into the shop. I don't really get what these are about anyway.

TinyMarincore - I was just about To post exactly that! Put them at the far flung corners of the car park. No one will use them.

Bloody child and parent spaces - more trouble than they are worth. Move them to the back of the parking ground already. That way the only people truly bothered to use a wider space will actually use them. I don't believe they are a 'right' at all, certainly shouldn't be made law.

Try this: "OMG you are so lucky. I've often wanted to have invisible children too!"

YANBU at all, but there a lots of muppets that think YABU.

I do inwardly seethe when I see someone without children using them although I'd never say anything. But even I would cut slack first thing in the morning or after about 7 in the evening.

My local supermarket has signs up saying the you have to be accompanied by a child under the age of twelve to park in them. I read this after the last thread about parent and child spaces, which turned into a bun fight (as is common with parking threads).

Yabu. Far as I'm concerned p&c spaces are for those that for whatever reason can't walk far but aren't entitled to a blue badge. And those who for whatever reason don't want to walk far, whether that be laziness, bad weather or time constraints. In my mind just because someone has reproduced it only puts them in the second category. Having parental responsibility does not in itself have any impact on your ability to walk. Incidentally across a few hundred metres of a car park not the Himalayas. And as to the car door argument, there's usually loads of spare space at the far end of the car park. However I strongly suspect if they put all the p&c places there, 99% of the p&c warriors would suddenly find opening car doors wasn't an issue

And goes without saying blue badge holders should park in them if they need to.

Canin you are a twat bringing kids names into it bore off as for this post it's been done to fucking death to be fair, no it isn't right so go complain to asda, say something at the time or suck it up because whinge bagging on here is just pointless.

aaaaaand off we go....

Zzzzzzzz see you in 10 pages time.

OP, I agree it is frustrating and I would like the spaces to be moved away from the shop entrance to stop it happening (I'm not bothered about walking an extra 10 yards or worried my baby may melt in the rain). I am at the moment looking into buying a different car as I struggle to get the car seat in or out of my 3 door no matter how wide the door's open!!! BTW, my local Asda has signs threatening fines if P&C spaces are misused.

Well, I know they're not legally enforceable or anything, and I don't think they should be, but when you're trying to get newborn twins out of a car by yourself and have to have the pram behind the car as it's busy, yes, I would prefer a bit more space. I think the P&C spaces should be furthest from the entrance, that would stop people using them!

I wouldn't complain about it but it used to worry me a lot. People drive like twats in carparks.