Is it ok to use parent and child parking when heavily pregnant

[Karigan195]

Exactly that really. At 34 weeks. Had several instances of people parking next to me and then not being able to open my car door enough to get in. So far my tricks have been to just park well away from everyone but still had to clamber over passenger seats and on one memorable occasion over the back seats when I could only get in through the sliding door. Obviously all the above is getting harder so would it be unreasonable to just say sod it and park in parent and child?

Yep fine with me. You are a parent and child, it's just that the child is inside atm

When I was heavily pregnant and had PGP, I used parent & child spaces - getting out of the car and walking were both difficult and painful.

SquishedPheasant

Your toddler isn't at risk.

Some of those you mention have as much if not more need of the space than you do.

SoupDragon
why would a car seat need to be removed for a child who can walk?

This is why punctuation is important. I read it as being the women who could walk across the car park

Well actually no, you misinterpreted my comment. It was clear that I was referring to children who can walk by my use of the preposition 'with'. 'With' means 'accompanied by', therefore, it's unambiguous that I was referring to children who can walk and not women who can walk. I hope that's cleared it up for you.

@Teddybear45 you can squish your fat and get into a tight space (speaking from experience) you can't do the same with a baby bump. Op I recon you're absolutely fine yo use the space.

Why should I put my toddler at risk walking across a busy car park because theres people without children or children over the age of 10 using the bays

Buy some reins and keep them in your bag for when you can't get parked in a P&C space, that way your toddler is safe beside you.

P&C spaces are nice to have when available but they're not essential and I don't understand all the hand wringing over them. Someone I know has appointed herself the P&C police and challenges people who she doesn't think should be parking in them, she has been told to fuck off more times than I can count and has had her car keyed three times that I know of buf she still gets so angry over the spaces and who - in her opinion -should/shouldn't be using them. Someone else I know will actually turn around and go home if there isn't a P&C space available.

OP, if you need the space then park in it.

I did, I couldn't drive from around 4 months as my SPD was terrible, but on the fairly rare occassion I went shopping with someone we did if there were loads of spaces, if there weren't we'd park far away and so the driver could reverse out and give me space to get in if needed. I needed the door wide open to get out, and when most of the spaces seem to be taken by parents with children not in car seats anymore I figured why not.

Do it. BUT be careful which carpark as our local shop has a camera pointing at the p&c spaces and if you get out without a child they send you a fine.

I spoke to a manager at Tescos about just this. She said that its perfectly acceptable for a heavily pregnant women to use the spaces as they have a child, just not in a car seat.

How do some of the people on this thread cope when you don’t get a P&C space?

I use them, they do make it so much easier but we also manage when we have to park in a normal space. Even when I had the infant carrier.

I didn’t manage to get back in my car through drivers door at 9 months pregnant when someone had parked in the space next to me - the space that was quite near the back of the car park.

It would have been easier to get a baby in the car, even with reduced space than me climbing over from the passengers side!

So yes, yANBU

When heavily pregnant someone parked sp close to me I couldn't get back into my car. I had to sit and wait for nearly an hour. Was raging! Do it.

100% fine by me 👍

I am doing this right now (although I do already have a 2 year old as well) but it’s mainly so I can get my wide load in and out of the car. Also got terrible sciatica so walking any distance is an effort.

Yesterday a woman pulled up next to me and jumped out with her acne-faced, greasy haired, long trousered, high school age son, twice the height of her. At least 15 he was. She gave absolutely no fucks whatsoever so why should you?

Regularly see old men sitting in the car in p&c space while the old lady wife whips round Tesco.

Other people just do what they like.

How do some of the people on this thread cope when you don’t get a P&C space?

go somewhere else 🤷

My local Aldi has the narrowest parking spaces you can imagine. The sad thing is that for some of their customers, it's not a lifestyle choice to shop there.

I am not huge, but there has been a few times when I could barely squeeze sideway. No chance would a pregnant woman or a car seat had fitted.

I did. I could barely walk so I felt completely ok with using them. I don't think anyone in their right mind would tell a heavily pregnant woman not to park in P&C spaces.

I used those spaces, I carried a lot of water and had a huge bump

An old man once shouted at me, and I turned around and he got a shock 😂 quickly apologised and rushed into the shop.

I would have zero problem with this. Anyone who does is mean.

I wish I had the confidence to have done this when pregnant with my first!

I think YANBU and it should be clear that heavily pregnant women are welcome to use them. I think the 12 year old age limit is ridiculous and should be lowered. Isn't a normal space OK as soon as your child can get themselves into the car and their seat themselves?

Absolutely fine! Would not bother me in the slightest! Go for it.

Unrelevant to pregnancy but I have to share the fact I came back to my car the other day to a lady (early 50's?) Parkknv next to my car... on the white line! I had reversed in and she didnt so our driver door are next to each other. There is literally an inch of space and I'm think holy shit how am I going to get in.

My plan was to wait until she left and just climb over the passenger side. But she then opened her door, looked me in the eye after seeing her car practically over the line and said "oh dear I havent left mich room for you have I?" Being a polite fucker I said it was fine.

Then she opened the reat of her car door... into my car, with a loud bang, loud enough for her to grimace at her self. Didnt apologise though.. she just wandered off.

Fuming.

No one human would have a problem with this. Feel free.

Absolutely fine, I can’t imagine many people having a problem with it. Its the people without children that drive me mad, I was in one last week and a middle aged couple parked in the next one (with no kids) and just stood outside the car to have a cigarette, it annoyed me more than it should.

I have 3 children under 5, and if there was only 1 p&c space left I would not begrudge you taking it. My boys are small and can get out of the car in regular space as long as I hold the door.

Pop a car seat for your baby to come on the back seat... And then you won't fall foul of carparking attendants.

Yes it is!

I have short legs, carried huge and had SPD. By 6 months my bump was a couple of cms from the steering wheel and my pelvis could no longer cope with much open movement.

I must have started using P&C spaces around then because from 36 weeks I could no longer sit behind the steering wheel with any hope of reaching the pedals to drive safely.
I couldn't bend forwards to move the seat so not suitable to ask anyone else to manouver the car because it would be too awkward to re-find the optimum driving position of just reaching the pedals and leaning back enough to get a large baby in his olympic swimming pool in while still being able to see over the bonnet.
Absolutely no way to get in via another door if someone did not allow me the full opening of my door. Getting in through the fully open drivers door was tough enough.
My final supermarket trip was at 34 weeks when my pelvis was burning in agony with no chance of effective pain relief, so no, I was not wasting valuable footsteps by my old trick of parking in the unpopular corner and walking.
During months 6-8 of pregnancy (I couldn't leave the house independently after week 36) my trips out were based very much on parking the absolute closest I reasonably could to the door and minimum walking required.

Without P&C spaces I would have been near housebound for months.

In pregnancy 2, it was pretty much a moot point as DS1 was nearly always with me. However I did have to ask at his swimming lessond if I could use a disabled space if P&C wasn't avaliable (which it frequently wasn't as the toddler lessons had more than toddlers than spaces) as I simply couldn't safely manage my crutches, kit for two and a tantrumy toddler (particularly when tired after the lesson) across from the far end of the carpark. Also my pelvis could not do uphill at that point. My mobility and a hard winter had already severely constrained a lot of our ability to go out and get him active, so I wasn't rushing to waste months of swimming lessons if possible.
I remember staggering into ASDA on the crutches at 38 weeks and being offered a mobility scooter, a tempting offer, but I was quite happy to overexert myself into labour by the vigourous exercise of heaving myself around a few aisles by that stage

If supply is abundant, I still use P&C now they are in primary school as DS1 has dyspraxia and does not have great control over a heavy car door. Obivously only when they are with me, and I can get a lot of errands done when they are in school so it's not that often. Ironically DS2 is easier to get in and out of a tighter space. I will often park further away in a quieter area if I can.