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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's not a competition? Parent and child parking

23 replies

Cocklodger · 27/07/2017 08:26

Went out shopping earlier today.
Parked in a parent and child space with one year old DD in her car seat.
As I was getting out a woman with 2 children and very obviously pregnant to tell me I shouldn't park there. I asked why, she said she needed the space more and taking the space up when I had only one child was very selfish. I was Hmm Hmm at this.
particularly because if anything her children were older and not in a car seat in a 3 door car. (It's a nightmare, mines in for repair and it's a rental) but said nothing. She spat on the floor next to me, had a cats bum face and if looks could kill I'd have dropped dead. She muttered something about selfish bitches and went with her kids into the centre.
I'm not in the uk so laws etc from there don't apply here but am I right in thinking it's not a competition??

OP posts:
Original poster
Cocklodger · 27/07/2017 08:27

Should say stopped me to tell me, sorry, I'm multitasking albeit badly

OP posts:
requestingsunshine · 27/07/2017 08:31

How weird!! Just ignore her, of course you're entitled to park there! Did she know you had a child with you? Could it be she didn't see your dd and thought you were childless?

Questioningeverything · 27/07/2017 08:31

What a total idiot. First come first served!

requestingsunshine · 27/07/2017 08:32

Sorry just re-read the bit about her saying you only have one child. She's a loon then, ignore her!

Original poster
Cocklodger · 27/07/2017 08:32

No it wasn't easy to miss I had DD in the pram I'd just got everything out of the car when she stopped me.

OP posts:
amornin · 27/07/2017 08:33

YANBU OP. If you have a child (with you) then you're free to use those spaces.

The ones that really annoy me are the parents whose children aren't actually with them who clearly think they're still entitled because they have a child!

Kintan · 27/07/2017 08:47

She sounds like a demented bully. Don't give her another thought!

BenLui · 27/07/2017 08:49

You were perfectly entitled to use the space. Just dismiss it from your mind, perhaps she was having a bad day.

Sirzy · 27/07/2017 08:49

These spaces bring out the worst in some people.

To me it's pretty simple. If a space is free use it, if not park elsewhere!

user1492287253 · 27/07/2017 08:52

bonkers conkers ignore.
or learn to tap into your psychic powers to determine who might be coming along behind you

Gileswithachainsaw · 27/07/2017 08:52

She sounds like a lunatic . You had a child, a space was free and you took.it.

I do wonder what these people did before these spaces cane about though. And often wonder how people manage all sorts of trips everywhere with their families yet lose the ability to park in a supermarket.

You weren't in the wrong not your fault she chose an impractical car or got there later than you did.

There was every chance there were no spaces free when you got there you all face the same chances of not getting a space but if ones free and you need it then take it.

Gileswithachainsaw · 27/07/2017 08:53

I was referring to her being unable to park btw

SpiritedLondon · 27/07/2017 08:56

I don't really use them anymore because my DD is 5 and I tend to think they're for parents struggling to get out babies in car seats. I have seen parents with teenagers use them which is out of order. Presumably you didn't cut this lady up to get into the space in which case you have every right. SIBU.

MiddleClassProblem · 27/07/2017 08:57

So is anyone who is about to park in them meant to check if any cars coming into the car park has more children in?

If she wants one that badly then she'll have to loiter.

Elphame · 27/07/2017 09:30

I do wonder what these people did before these spaces came about though

We managed just fine. We taught our children not to run off and held their hands through the car park and taught them to watch for moving cars.

These basic survival skills seem to be lost on the current post P&C parking generation though as I watch young teenagers texting away as they walk into the road and completely oblivious of cars moving around. Drivers need eyes in the back of their heads nowadays.

LTBiscuit · 27/07/2017 09:32

Aha spat? That's absolutely vile.

LTBiscuit · 27/07/2017 09:32

And spat?! Not aha. How Alan Partridge of me Grin

faithinthesound · 27/07/2017 09:35

Point of order: Whether you had a child with you or not, you were perfectly within the law to park there.

Parent and child parking is a courtesy offered by the individual stores. It is not a legal right.

You can argue until the cows come home that it's in the store's best interest to pander to accommodate parents, that it's about courtesy, that it's the right thing to do... but the fact of the matter is, it is not against the law to park in those spaces. Only disabled parking is legally protected.

Note: this doesn't mean that stores can't designate P&C spots and then enforce them, but such enforcement would be civil, rather than a police matter.

It also means that whoever is standing there pontificating about whether or not you can park there can basically get to f*ck. They don't have a legal leg to stand on.

It might be the NICE thing to do, to leave them for parents and children, but it certainly isn't mandated by law.

SheSaidHeSaid · 27/07/2017 09:35

Those spaces are a bonus, not an entitlement. First come first served, end of.

YWNBU.

MeltorPeltor · 27/07/2017 09:37

We managed just fine. We taught our children not to run off and held their hands through the car park and taught them to watch for moving cars.

I quite often find that if I park in a 'normal' space I cannot fully open my car doors, with a pregnant bump, a large car (tow vehicle) and a toddler in a rear facing seat, I need the extra room. I can't always find an end of row space to park in nor can I park in the middle of empty spaces and expect people not to park next to me.

How did my mother cope? Fewer cars on the road so less busy car parks, a smaller car and a toddler in a booster seat, much easier but not as safe!

Gileswithachainsaw · 27/07/2017 09:43

How did my mother cope? Fewer cars on the road so less busy car parks, a smaller car and a toddler in a booster seat, much easier but not as safe!

Isn't that partly the issue though? I mean perhaps people need to think through their car choices a bit more. Like people who buy massive tanks for prams wo5th zero thought to how they plan on getting them on and off buses they take daily for work and school runs etc

Is it wrong to assume that people who buy massive cars or three doors that require opening the door wide to push seats forward etc have factored in the negatives such as supermarket car parks when making the decision ?

Cos it's certainly unfair to make a crap decision then shout at other people when it bites you in the arse.

mrsRosaPimento · 27/07/2017 09:58

I use the child and family spaces as ds1 has dyspraxia so is more likely to open the door too wide and damage another car. He's 13, so I probably look like I shouldn't park in one.

Sirzy · 27/07/2017 10:01

Surely the "child opens door too wide" is a reason to leave child locks on so you can control it though?

(Not that I care who parks where but i do worry how you manage that one when in a normal space!)

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