To think elderly couple should not have parked in parent and child space?

[Pelly8]

Local supermarket has loads of disabled bays (which are 90% empty whenever i’ve been) but only 5 parent and child bays. Elderly couple (probs in 70s) parked their car in a parent and child bay just as I was packing away my shopping.

I almost pointed out that there was plenty of other places for them to park (including plenty of other non disabled bays close to the entrance) but bit my tongue.

AIBU to think they should have parked elsewhere?

I honestly couldn't find it in me to give a crap about this.
Even when dc was at the 'octopus' stage it never bothered me one bit if I had to park in a normal space.

I find it very odd that some people feel the need to police others 😂.

DD has MS and a blue badge. Apparently Morrisons in particular put their parent and child bays nearer the entrance than their blue badge bays, so perhaps that is why the elderly couple parked there.

This thread makes no sense

What's the point of P&C bays then!

What's the point of P&C bays then!

To convince parents to shop there as they often spend a lot and become brand loyal with things like nappies.

As a luxury for parents.

To convince parents the store gives a flying fuck about parents lifestyle choices.

I'd rather see spaces for those with limited mobility than p&c spaces
There are loads of people not eligible for a blue badge but with limited mobility
I think p&c spaces should be much further back and with the extra space. Why do they need to be so close

I’d have thought they needed it much more than a parent with a child.

I don’t get the angst about these spaces though. People managed before we had them and children don’t melt in the rain if there isn’t a spot right by the doors.

They should be abolished or put right at the back of car parks.

I like the idea of changing them to Priority spaces. Not all people with children need them, and equally not everyone without a BB does not have mobility problems

They'd all be full of people claiming they needed them. Maybe add priority spaces in addition. Or make all spaces a decent width given the larger cars.

I genuinely don’t mind if people use the P&C spaces when they have mobility issues as it can be difficult to obtain a blue badge to park legally in the disabled spaces.

I do mind when perfectly healthy people use them because they can’t be bothered to walk/don’t want their car scratched.

U are being totally fucking unreasonable
Poor couple!
U don't get given a blue badge once u reach a certain age you know
Also disabled bays are illegal to park in parent and child are not
U don't know their circumstances
U sound like an entitled arse
I'm actually sitting here over breakfast disgusted by your post

I can't get het up about it. My nan would never use them but could definitely use them. Her mobility is awful and in her words she walks around like Bambi on ice. They probably need it more than some of the families with older kids I see using them.

It's tricky. I feel like with a baby those spaces are really useful, and since they do exist and are labelled parent and child i think they're for me and my baby rather than for people without kids. I think it's fairly well known that blue badge overflow goes into parent and child spaces. But other people who need more space for other reasons? I'd say only if plenty of p&c spaces, otherwise doesn't everything said about it being a luxury and 'how do you manage elsewhere?' also apply to these people? I have a small car it's just normal spaces tend to be small and it is harder to manage in a non p&c space. I tend to judge the single men I see in them more so than elderly though tbh but don't think I'm brave enough to say anything!

They have Priority Spaces at a shopping centre near us. They are very popular. I have no idea who uses them.
DH and I (late 60s) park at the far end of car parks and walk as a small nod to keeping ourselves fit
DDiL used to foster babies and always parked at the far end of car parks and walked. None of her babies suffered from being pushed the extra distance in their prams, she got extra exercise, and she had no problem opening the doors of the car because she chose spots where no one else parked.

Oh ffs

My gran was very elderly/frail towards the end of her life but still loved to get to the shops once a week. She wasn’t entitled to a disabled badge as she wasn’t disabled - I always dropped her at the door but this was a couple who are both elderly - I can understand them parking in parents spaces if they’re not entitled to blue badges

I think p and c should be parent and children. Never used them if I only had one child with me. Definitely think elderly should have priority.

I do have issues with some people parking in the parent and child bays.
Last week I got caught in a super fucking torrential downpour, it started so fast and I'd had to park at the back of the car park to get a space with some room. My 4mo got fucking soaked. Plenty of people with kids in the parent and child spaces, and as one single person with no kids left with them, another single person with no kids with them pulled into the space.
I got DS into the car as quick as I could but it wasn't a pleasant experience and it definitely annoyed me.
Old people with mobility issues, possibly crap eye sight and who would struggle in a normal space? Wouldn't bother me.
My nan has a blue badge as she has MS but her life is so much harder than someone with good mobility that if someone who is struggling is helped by these spaces, then they should use them.

If they put p & c spaces further away from store entrance they'd always be free.... Their purpose is to give wider spaces... I don't think having a young child means parents can walk / push pram / carry child / hold child's hand for only a limited distance

You have to love people calling you out for ageism, who have automatically assumed that a couple in their 70s must be decrepit. There are plenty of people in that age bracket at my local park run, and there are plenty of able bodied people who park in those spaces out of sheer laziness. Having said that, I'd let it go. It's not a fight you'll ever win. I get more annoyed with works vans and people with teenagers (and I know, hidden disabilities, teenagers can have mobility issues too, but let's face it, most of them park there because they can't be arsed walking). If you think of the hardship it has actually caused you, its not even worth the rise in blood pressure really.

I've always thought they should be at the back. Further away with good footpaths and crossings to the door, and there won't be an issue.

FFS. The angst that some people have over P&C spaces is mind boggling.

If your supermarket has 5 P&C spaces, a vast majority of people with children will have to park in 'normal' spaces and I'm sure manage just fine. People really don't like to be slightly inconvenienced at ALL these days.

Yes, wider spaces further away from entrance would be the way forwards (or park further away where there are several empty spaces.. Nobody needs parent and child spaces but extra width for fixing car seats in is useful.

I think I’d like them to do dog owner spaces that were well shaded and away from nosey people, with a tap for water.

Yabu". Child and parent spaces are not a legal right and a nice luxury. In this case they needed the space more than you. Park at back of car park if no parent and child spaces as no one parks there and safer than near the front. My sister told me that and shes right. Saying that shopping with a toddler is 10000 times harder than shopping with a baby as im now realising.

When my husband broke his leg we couldn’t park in a disabled bay as it needs a permit. Every supermarket I went to said the P&C space was the most appropriate for him and that (when they are nearer the shop) they prefer the less abled to use them over parents with children. My local Waitrose has also gotten rid of P&C after a trial that moved P&C spaces to the back of the carpark resulting in most of the lazy sods who used to need the extra space for their ‘octopus kids’ suddenly finding they could manage with smaller spaces if it resulted in a shorter walk.

I don't understand how anyone can ask this question if they've been on MN for at least three years as the OP has. The two most frequent threads on AIBU for years have been weddings and parking of some form (with P&C spaces being the most common).

People with children are not the only people with needs! YABVVU.