Waitrose Mum & Baby carpark - parking without child!

[NZMummy15]

So today I parked at Waitrose (in a normal car park as didn't have the kids) and noticed a middle aged woman had parked in the mum and baby carpark (with no kids).

I went up to her in Waitrose and said you've just parked in a m&b carpark but you don't have any children with you. To which she replied I have a baby it's just not with me and I'm in a hurry, anyway who are you the police? Long story short I said she shouldn't be there and also mentioned this to the customer service desk who didn't care.

When I was putting my groceries in to the car she came over to me and said I shouldn't judge without knowing the full story and she actually has medical problems. I said she should be parking in the disabled car park then if that's the case, but of course did feel a little bit bad about whether I handled it right and if she was telling the truth as she didn't mention any of that earlier?

What would you have done it that situation? It's making me feel really awful now, but on the flip side I know how awful it is when you can't get a car park and you have a small baby/child so it always gets my back up!

OP you can never win on these threads. P&C spaces are for P&C but we all know that other people use them whether they need them or not. I wouldn’t grudge anyone with a disability a space, and I’m not precious about P&C spaces at all but it it frustrating to see that lots of people think people are entitled because they want the spaces to be used correctly.

Next time, roll your eyes, have a bit of a mutter to yourself and move on. It’s really not worth the aggro.

I would mind my business

Oh dear. The parents who are so precious about “their” P&C spaces are the same ones who have “ princess on board” signs on the car and force pedestrians to go on to the road whilst walking past with their monster sized buggies

I would do what I normally do when I see this.
Nothing except for minding my own business.

So, I have a question. All the people saying that it’s difficult to get a blue badge so they park in the P&C spaces due to hidden disabilities or mobility problems. Why do you need a blue badge to park in a disabled space in a supermarket car park on private land? It’s not like parking on local authority land - you can’t be fined for parking there unless the Land owner’s terms and conditions of parking say you can be. Similarly, if the land owner wishes to designate some space to people with children, that’s a matter for them. It’s simply a matter of contract. If someone can explain why I’m wrong about that, I’m of course happy to be corrected.

I probably wouldn’t have even noticed. Whether I had my toddler with me or not.
And if I had noticed, I wouldn’t have cared one bit. It’s a small rectangle of concrete that you use for a very small amount of time that you don’t even own. I mean, who cares?

I’m not precious about P&C spaces at all but it it frustrating to see that lots of people think people are entitled because they want the spaces to be used correctly.

While often also being rightly very fed up if blue badge parking isn't used correctly.
Personally I haven't used parent parking since dc were toddlers and would never use disabled parking. I also wouldn't engage with people using either type of parking incorrectly, life is far too short.
But I do think that either we have a society were rules are followed or one where people's individual preferences are more important. It isn't about what is legally enforceable so much as either we as a society are fine with people looking at clear signage about the usage of something and deciding their personal needs are more important or we live in a society where rules are more closely followed.
There are pluses and minuses to both approaches but I don't think a system that tries to have both is going to work very well. Because by nature people are likely to excuse their own ignoring of rules and judge others for theirs.

@ProhibitedRodent you're wrong. It depends what level of DLA you have and the specifically the mobility element of the application.

I know several people in receipt of DLA who have not been granted Blue Badges.

What would I do? Fuck all. I couldn't give a single shit where people park, aside from disabled spaces. And even then I'm not the car park police.

@30Pamplemousecat
Why are people with kids/ babies so entitled about such things. People have been having them since the dawn of time. Such a big fuss is made over everything. Huge pushchairs and car seats that need the doors completely removed virtually to allow access

Pretty sure most pushchairs are smaller than they used to be, and car seats are much larger since we realised that safety in car accidents is actually quite important...

I know you've had a pasting here OP, but I agree with you, I do wish the spaces were further away from the store, would fix all the problems. I don't use them to be closer, it's to open the car door enough to be able to get children out without damaging another car.

I see a lot of able bodied men using these

My boyfriend looks perfectly able bodied, but he has AMC in his hands and feet, this means to get in and out of a car the door has to be fully open, he then has to swivel around and very carefully stand to get his balance without damaging his ankles. Once he is actually walking or even running you wouldn’t know he has a physical disability.

He does have a blue badge, I drove him somewhere recently and he hadn’t brought his blur badge to my flat, so instead we parked in one of many p&c spaces.

I can't believe how many people are giving you grief for this!

It happens all the time. I never say anything, just silently seethe.

I have invisible disabilities. I still would never park in parent and child space without dd, even when I'm really struggling.

if you get DLA or PIP you're automatically entitled to a Blue Badge - I know because that's how I got mine!

nonsense. my DC gets DLA (highest care rate as she is severely disabled). we have been turned down twice for a BB! we still don't have one.

So you berated a complete stranger in the supermarket?

YABVU

God you sound tiresome!

From white van men to that sort of mean, entitled Tory, leave-voting older couple. Considerably moar entitled than

Hope your opinionated spleen feels better for that little foot-stamping vent!! Maybe if you concentrated on your spelling and left life to the adults you would be better placed!
For the benefit of you, and other like-minded idiots, at 71 I have no friend who voted leave!!!

Some people have been rather rude & nasty to Op. she’s expressed regret. Op you may be hung for thid

Maybe she did have an illness...maybe she didn’t who knows. Of course it’s annoying when people use them when they shouldn’t. We’re you unreasonable to approach/report? Perhaps

For the people who said Op followed her around the shop harassing her...have I missed something ? I didn’t see Op say that

Tilly, I think the incorrect spelling was deliberate. Chill.

I agree it's annoying. Probably wouldn't have gone to the lengths you went to though!

I only read the replies when I saw you dared call it a mum and child space Just knew that would cause an absolute outrage on here!

Or could be like those poppets collecting their snowflakes from the local school and college who see fit to wait in the many disabled spaces at the near supermarket. Or the poppets who park across crosshatchings preventing me from getting out or into my car.

People admonishing the disabled, often with blue badges for using P&C spaces need to get a clue. Children are a lifestyle choice, disabilities are not.

if you get DLA or PIP you're automatically entitled to a Blue Badge - I know because that's how I got mine!
Bullshit! I do get mine automatically but only because I specifically scored more than 8 points in the moving around section of PIP, otherwise you have to apply.

I got told off by a busybody (likely mumsnetter) today. Went to the supermarket, DH met us there after work as it's closer to the station. Just as we were queuing to pay DS filled his nappy! So I paid for the shopping and took it out to the car while DH went to change the nappy. Only to be confronted by a woman as I was loading the bags, telling me I shouldn't be parked there. I pointed out the car seat in the back and that I don't carry it for fun, and that my son was with my husband still in the shop. She harrumphed and eyerolled then sat in her car staring at me, by which time DH emerged with DS. She just shook her head at me and drove off. WTF. People need more in their lives to think about.

I'm reading and all I can think is "who the hell are you to even confront her"

Like how does it affect you in any way shape or form?

When my toddler was a few months old, we would take the car seat out of the car and put it in the trolley.. once my dh was still in the store with dd and I came out to the car (we was parked in the parent/child space) I had a barrage of abuse hurled at me by some busy bodies about me taking up car spaces, and how they posted my car with no car seat in.. on the local Facebook group. Lmao!

I was really about to punch one of them until dh walked out with car seat in hand.. and the look on their faces was priceless.

But that's my story, YABVU. None of your business.