AIBU to think that people who don't have young children who park in parent and child spaces are selfish?

[Kjc105]

I was reading an article on the Daily Fail about a young couple with a baby who were left a note saying that parent and child spaces are for people with children (they were with their baby) but what annoyed me were people commenting under the article who were saying that they always park in parent and child even if there are other spaces available as they feel parents are entitled to too many things and why should they be inconvenienced by people having children. Is it me or is this totally selfish as the reason why those spaces are they are for the safety of the children, more space so other car doors aren't dented and closer to the store so it is generally safer for children and less likely for a child to be hit by a car. AIBU to think these people are selfish?

And it really doesnt matter one jot that you dont think parents "should" have these spaces (perhaps because your own mother navigated her way across a plain of wild lions to get to sainsburys)
They do.
If you think that legitimate use of a P&C space ( you know, being a "P&C") is an act of unjustified "entitlement" why dont you start a petition?

Sighs
As one whose children are in their twenties , I'm wondering how I managed
Ummm , we just opened the door and got on with it
Why can't people just park where they want

You see userwhateverfuckingnumberyouare disabled people are marginalised. People fight for our spaces on public transport, spaces we fought for. They get better spaces than us in the supermarkets because we're not considered as important as a family with children, I mean, god forbid we should happen to be said family. We're marginalised at every single fucking opportunity possible and people like you enforce this with your statement above. Well tough, if a blue badge holder grabs a p&c space, live with it. They've done it for a reason and nine times out of ten it isn't selfishness or to spite you or to make your life a bit more difficult, it's to live, you know, to shop, to have some sort of quality of life on a par with yours, like being able to choose what to put in a trolley themselves rather than someone doing it for them, like being able t see the fruit, or choose the longer sell by date. Things you take for granted. Think first.

Ooh! I'm a parent to a two year old and I'm pregnant AND I'm disabled with a blue badge.

So many shitty, nasty comments on here. So much ableist bullshit. And do you know what? It's just more of the same. As usual. So predictable.

I appreciate P&C spaces just as much as BB spaces. They're both great when used sensibly and when people abide by the rules.

People calling OP a GF. There's plenty of GFs about and I'm not sure OP is one of them...

I would never park in a p c bay as a norm
But if they are nearer the shop or no bb bays free i will use when i have my dd with me
And i don't give a rats arse if that upsets a parent, i have a mobile phone and will call police if there is ever any threat to my adult child

And fine, park in them even if you are not supposed to
That does not mean you should and are not selfish in doing so.

I have never, ever in the entire history of my going out in my car far and wide across the UK come across a car park wherethedisabled spaces are full.. That's quite something, at least once a week we come across this.

And loving the aggression here.

I have never, ever in the entire history of my going out in my car far and wide across the UK come across a car park wherethedisabled spaces are full...

Because you've never seen it as a non-disabled driver it doesn't exist?

I haven't RTFT, don't have enough time, but feel strongly on the subject so need to comment.

Cars are getting bigger, spaces stayed the same size. So for the people asking "what did we do before?" well you were able to open your door wide enough to safely get your baby out of the car.

I have a small car and yet I cannot park in a normal space and get my door open wide enough to get my baby out.
I either park on a road so I will always have access, or if I'm somewhere I can't do that (supermarket or retail park, for example), I have 3 choices, in this order of preference:

1. Park in a parent and child space
2. Park at the end of a row
3. Park in the quietest part of the car park and hope against hope nobody parks next to me while I get the shopping.

In the 2 months leading up to Christmas when shops were generally busy even when I was there during the day on a weekday, I couldn't get any of the above and had to turn back home because I literally couldn't get my baby out of the car. Other times when I was desperate, I just had to drive round in circles for half an hour until there was an end of row space available (there are so few parent and child spaces at any of the shops near me that they're never free). I parked up and tried, each time I couldn't. I have a sling, and use it if I'll be able to carry what I need to carry - I much prefer it to taking out the car seat. But please note: I cannot use a sling for everything and it still doesn't solve the problem of getting her out when many spaces are still too narrow even without the car seat, also my supermarket (I don't live in a city so there's only one and it's not that big) does not have any trollies with the baby seats on them. I need to take the car seat out in these circumstances. So no, it's not a "convenience" for me - if the normal spaces are too narrow in that car park then they are a must or I need to go back home as I can't we'll leave my baby in the car while I get the shopping. Some of the smallest cars you can buy now are still much bigger than cars used to be. I don't care where a parent and child space is (let it be farthest from the shops if need be) but I need a space that lets me get my baby out of the car - in her car seat in some situations, or in others just her without squeezing/scraping/bashing her through the tiny gap. A space where a door can fully open is not that much to ask for.

YANBU. Drives me nuts when folk do that! It's as much about safety as proximity to the shop, I think. Many kid spaces are located so that you don't have to cross the whole car park and run the risk of being mown down by some nut job driving too fast around the car park.

Maybe I am too conformist
I dont park in disabled spaces as i am (as yet) not entitled to do so
I dont park in staff spaces (unless I am the identified staff member) and if I dont have the small dc with me I dont use the P&C space because, although it might be more convenient for me I appreciate that someone else's need trumps mine.

I can't get the OPs comment about people with knee problems out my head. , why should I be inconvenienced by someone who has a bad knee?

I'm so bloody angry at that comment. I've got problems with my knees. I'm often literally in tears with the pain. It's particularly bad at the moment. You should see me just now walking about my house like someone twice my age. I can't believe someone like the OP complains about being bloody inconvenienced when she's (presumably) fit & healthy and able to walk a distance. Something I would love to be able to do

Better, it's a regular occurrence here. They are full every Saturday and Sunday and fairly regularly on a weekday too. And I shall park in them if my dd wants to go shopping. I fought for BB spaces, I fought for access to public transport and I shall continue to ensure my dd has access to the same places as the rest of the fucking world. And do you know what, that's not selfish, that's equality.

Did i say it doesnt exist?
Just remarking on my experience

I do not accept that P&C spaces are the only legitimate option for a significant numberof disabled users and I find the implication that this is the case disingenuous and bloody irritating.

Firstly you have people here sharing their experiences of trying to park with their disabled relatives (or park their own cars) when they aren't disabled enough to qualify for a badge but still have a significant mobility impairment.

Secondly, no one is saying that most people who park in p and c spaces without children have mobility issues but no blue badge. We're standing up for people that are in this situation and saying that "not a parent with a small child, don't park in a p and c space" shouldn't always apply in the case of disability.

Dd i didnot say you were selfish and i object to the implication that i did

I dont park in disabled spaces as i am (as yet) not entitled to do so

Blue badge only spaces are in no way equivalent to p and c spaces.

Dawndonna th op is a gf
Ignore it, we will carry on pariking in p and c bays long after the ops child is walking
Fuck them

Better, If I have misinterpreted something I apologise.

You're taking my comment completely out of context. I said people saying my inconveniencing them with my children is a problem, that you could say the same about someone who has a knee problem. As said, I do not agree with it, I was making a point. Please re-read and do not take comments out of context as it's not helpful to discussion.

How do you know the patent with a child doesnt have a physical need that falls short of a blue badge?

The fact is that some people, wanting a bit of extra space or a parking spot closer to the store think "fuck off mums"