To think it wasn’t wrong of me to use a parent & child parking space?

[AngeloMysterioso]

At a supermarket today- I didn’t have my DC with me, however I am 6 1/2 months pregnant with DC3 and suffering with what I have come to refer to as “arse daggers” - very painful shooting pains in my glutes that leave me hobbling in a most inelegant manner by the end of the day.
The parking spaces in the car park are very narrow, to the point where I struggle to fit myself and my bump out of the door and it was all getting a bit ridiculous, so today I decided to park in one of the P&C spaces (of which there are many, and I didn’t take the last empty one) so that I wouldn’t have to squeeze out of the door and would have less distance to painfully shuffle into the shop.
Afterwards I was putting my shopping in my car when I was accosted by some absolute cowbag who berated me for taking a P&C space even though I didn’t have a child with me. I pointed out the obvious, bump, mobility problems, plenty of spaces to go round, and she said I still had no right to park there and potentially deprive someone with a child of a space. At this point I decided not to bother engaging and just got in my car and left.

Was I BU?

It's totally fine in my opinion. I've used them when heavy pregnant and simply couldn't squeeze out of normal spaces.

They're there to give more room for getting babies/kids in and out the car. You have a baby with you.

Why do supermarkets even need parent and child spaces. In the 70's from the age of 7, I was carrying two shopping bags home with my mum. No car, we either walked the three miles, with a shopping bag in each hand, or stood in the road waiting for the bus.

I didn't have a bump until I was over 7 months pregnant but I had PGP and sciatica. I spent months in pain. I understand your pain but imagine if parents of pre schoolers needed that space. It's dangerous for little ones to navigate a carpark. I'd probably think the same of parents with older children unless they had disabilities but you never know so I'd never say anything. Maybe just don't do this again.

Heavily pregnant is fine IMO

I cannot stress this enough- there were plenty of P&C spaces still available. Unless there was a massive influx of people with children (not in utero) who all arrived after me and left before me, nobody was left short of a space because I’d taken one.

Erm, perhaps because the world has finally clocked on that things don’t need to be so fucking difficult on purpose and we can make life easier for people rather than reminiscing about when times were really, really shit?

I mean why have electric fireplaces?! When I were a lad I used to just climb up t’chimney age 3 and sweep away, never did me any harm <coughs out soot from lungs>

Yanbu. P and C spaces are aimed at parents with children under 5 but IMO they can also be used for heavily pregnant women and people who don't quite qualify for a blue badge but need one.

@Coneheadmuffin great post.

My bump at six months with DS looked like a 9 month bump and I struggled to get out tight spaces.

But there’s a corner of MN that REALLY wants women to fucking suffer for their sins, (their sins being getting pregnant or wanting to make their lives easier). I think some women only think you should get a Woman Card if you make your life as hard as possible and walk 15 miles, buy £300 worth of shopping and carry it all home again. Anything else is spoilt and entitled 🤣

It's not like you're 5 weeks pregnant and taking the piss.

I'd have needed it more at 5 weeks than at 6 months tbf. Sick as a dog, dizzy, weak and faint.

But presumably still able to get out of a car? What would you need the space for exactly?

They are not for pregnancy they are for the safety of children

No they’re a marketing tool to get parents in the supermarket. What is more safe about a child having a bigger gap to get out a car?!

I’ve been pregnant and unable to get back into my car after a Supermarket shop as somebody parked so close I couldn’t get the bump through the door! YANBU especially as you say there were lots of spaces.

@WeetabixTowels of course they are safer as you can get a baby car seat in and out, lean in to strap your child in properly, closer to the shop so less likely your child will run off amongst parked cars…

YANBU - we were told by our NCT trainer that we should be making use of the parent and child spaces in later stages of pregnancy (just make sure you have a child seat in the car to reduce others commenting!) I did on occasions and it was a life saver - I couldn't get out of the car in a normal space once.
(Only today, someone parked in a P&C space without a child with them and proceeded into the shop - lots of other spaces nearby free!)

If the pain is so bad that you can't manage to walk a few extra metres to the store - how on earth do you manage to walk around said store?

How do you manage in carparks without p&c parking bays?

This is never a problem at our local supermarket as the p&c bays are at the back of the carpark (with a walk way direct to the shop so no crossing). I have never once seen these bays full. Weirdly, parents seem more than capable of using a normal space when they are closer to the shop.

YANBU and I genuinely don't get how people can be so mean spirited as to think you are. The point of P&C spaces is to give extra room to manoeuvre a baby or child in and out of a car. Getting a big pregnant bump, containing a baby, in and out of a car when someone decides to park inches from your door or in tight spaces is sometimes physically impossible.

I say this as the mum of a 3 month old, who got trapped outside my car several times while pregnant in non P&C spaces. I actually hurt myself quite badly (ironically at the women's hospital) trying to squeeze my bump into the car in the later stages.

You did nothing wrong OP and I'm sure most people have the moderate levels of human kindness required to recognise that if they saw you struggling.

This !

Good for you. Here’s your martyr medal 🥇

OP you’re getting some mad responses. Of course it was fine for you to use it and no one in their right mind would think anything else if they watched a heavily pregnant lady heave herself out of her car and hobble to the shop. People are mad.

What a ridiculous comment. Your mum wasn't having to lean over you to strap you into a car seat then, was she?

Given that I had to climb across my handbrake at 7m pregnant because some arsehole parked so close to me that I could barely get the door open 20cm, YANBU!

Ignore the twats.

Use the spaces if you need to and don't think anything of it.

When I was pregnant I honestly couldn't fit through the space of a half open car door in a standard parking space. I was unsteady and and would probably end up walloping the door against the car next to me when trying to get out.

I used p&c spaces on occasion where there was no spaces 'at the back with nobody else around you'.

You'd have to be a special kind of prick to question someone obviously pregnant and uncomfortable making use of the extra space.