Parent and child parking! 12 and 9 year old?!

[AnySecondNow]

Just had a row with a woman in Tesco car park. I waited 15 minutes for parking - have to carry a fairly solid 6 month old to the shop (post cesarean - still not 100%!)

Anyway, this family were parked in child and parent bay with a 12 year old and a 9 year old. Both very capable of walking and opening doors! I commented that she was rude to park there, she said she was entitled to. Then her husband complained about me to the management!!!

Wtf!? Ainu??! Parent and child surely means young child that needs assistance??!

[Devilishpyjamas]

I didn't sleep in 17 years (severely disabled eldest son). Didn't mean I got to act like an arsehole.

[CherryChasingDotMuncher]

I think she only parked there because SHE needed the extra room. Sorry, but true

Aaaand any ounce of high ground you had has disappeared just like that. Well done

[Sirzy]

You waited 15 minutes to get a p and c space rather than just parking elsewhere?

I use p and c spaces with my 7 year old, and will do for as long as we need them. If he isn't using his chair (or walking into the supermarket to use one of the "firefly" seats) he looks "normal" but he is autistic and has a host of mobility problems too. Not entitled to a blue badge yet though.

If a space is free great use it, if not park elsewhere. It really is that simple!

[ilovesooty]

had a row
suggested it was inconsiderate

Which was it?

[FeralBeryl]

YABU.
You don't get to choose who is 'worthy' of a space, if they are acting within the designated ages stated then sorry, it's first come first served.
Save your indignation for the poor bastards trying to get their wheelchairs out the boot on the far side of the car park because a van is in the BB spaces.
As an aside-if you're still struggling post op after 6 months, go and get checked out.
I usually have some semblance of sympathy for newish parents but you lost me with your GF weight comment.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

brasty not true. My DS will still have no sense of danger when he's 9, I'll still need to use spaces close to the markings or the door to keep him safe.

[MyWhatICallNameChange]

I stopped using them once my kids were school age.

If I couldn't find one I'd go to the back of the carpark and park far away from other cars.

I really don't get the big fuss over them, most supermarket car parks are massive and I always went at quiet times of day so there'd be plenty of empty spaces round me (except for that one bastard who parked right against the drivers door when I was heavily pregnant, a whole car park and they chose to park their shitty Land Rover there)

[NellysKnickers]

So now she parked there cos she's fat. Get a grip op. They were parents with children in a p&c space............and how do you know how old the children were?

[cuddlymunchkin]

Good grief, who deemed you the parking police? Good for them for reporting you.

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

I haven't got to the fat insults yet, I'm still laughing at OP and her parking contracts 😂😂😂

[NellysKnickers]

FWIW my youngest is 6, I still park there sometimes but not always.........they aren't just for parents of babies, I can assure you, your 6 month old is less likely to run off and get hit by a car

[MongerTruffle]

Unless it stated the ages, they were within their rights to park there. If it just said "child", then that would mean "person who has not yet reached the age of majority" (which in the UK is 18).

[AwaywiththePixies27]

I haven't slept properly in ages. I went into a very busy city centre this week shopping for my DDs birthday and encountered several rude people.

I managed to not cause a row once.

[aprilanne]

i used to park in these spaces when my youngest older than 12 because he is autistic he looks perfectly normal .if he was throwing a strop i needed the extra room to open the doors to get him in the car .i would have told you to get lost if you had challenged me they were quite right to report you to management lack of sleep is no excuse for your behaviour

[babyapril]

I think a much better idea would be to do away with all parent and baby/child/goldfish or whatever and replace them with places for people with disabilities.

[lokisglowstickofdestiny1]

Where were you parked during the 15 mins you had to wait, tucked out of the way or somewhere everyone else had to manoeuvre around? People do this in my local supermarket, backs the whole car park up as people have to squeeze past. If her husband complained to management it sound to me like you did a bit more than point out she wasn't entitled to park there - which she was if she had a 9 year old with her. YABU.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

I think a much better idea would be to do away with all parent and baby/child/goldfish or whatever and replace them with places for people with disabilities.

babyapril 😂

[AliceInUnderpants]

I park in P&C spaces with my 8 and 11 year old's. It's near impossible to get a blue badge here without HRM, and there are various reasons we may need the extra space or specific location.

You and your 'heavy six month old' can bite me. Try wrangling an 11 year old into a car seat when they are in meltdown mode.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

Ideally of course supermarkets should just take out all P&C spaces and make the remaining spaces a little bit wider instead.

They'd still have the same number of spaces - but the normal ones might then be wide enough to get a modern family car in and open the doors wide enough to climb out even if you're not a size 8.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

What were you doing in those 15minutes? Were you waiting for them?

This is why I avoid supermarkets like the plague on Saturdays.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

I think a much better idea would be to do away with all parent and baby/child/goldfish or whatever and replace them with places for people with disabilities.

You'd still get self important idiots confronting people because "you don't look disabled". Some people will always find someone to pick an argument with.

[MsMims]

In your opening post I commented that she was rude to park there

Later on I wasn't overly aggressive, just suggested it was inconsiderate of her

So which is it? Because it can't be both. Yes YABU and a busybody. I'm glad they complained, who do you think you are accosting strangers in a car park over a space?

[PietariKontio]

Not saying I never used them, but I also don't get them at all. Only people with disabilities need protected car parking, and having a baby/child isn't a disability. Makes life trickier, but that's about it

[Purplepotatoe]

But you didn't point out she was being inconsiderate, you told her she was being rude, presumably in front of her children. Christ talk about first world problems, you had a baby, that's it, as have many people before you. I sympathise if you've had a c section but really if it's that bad that you cannot carry your baby across a car park you could always shop online.

[JigglyTuff]

DS is 10 and has ADHD. I have a more valid reason for parking there than you do tbh.

At least your baby isn't likely to run in front of a moving car. And if you're struggling to shift the baby weight, you could park a bit further away and take the opportunity to get a bit of extra exercise