Parent and child spaces should be for those with children 5 and under

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Parent-child parking spaces at supermarkets should be reserved primarily for those with children aged 5 and under, aside from older children with special needs (although a blue badge might be more appropriate where they meet the criteria, in these cases).

I was alone with my 4 month old today, the trolleys with the baby seats are kept next to these spaces. The spaces which have the easiest access to the trolleys had all been taken with the last taken by someone just before me, I reversed into a space around the corner and the driver was shaking their head at me, presumedly because their space only had extra room on one side and my space came up to them (see picture). I was surprised to then see them get out with a child of about 13. I saw multiple other people using these spaces with children looking like teenagers. I was able to get a space which still had fairly easy access to the trolleys, albeit by needing to walk on the road and inbetween the other cars, multiple people had parked in the spaces with the easiest access with much older children. I was lucky to get a space at all, had I not I would have had to walk across the busy carpark holding my baby.

YANBU- Just because someone has a child under 16 doesn’t mean they should take up these spaces, they should save them for people who need them the most.

YABU- first come first served, who cares if someone with a baby is having to traipse across a busy car park holding a baby to get to the baby trolleys.

What I don’t get are PnC spaces are nearer to entrances than disabled spaces. Generally people who have BB can walk less than most PnC users

I have an 8yo and 5 yo, and until they're out of their booster seats I will continue to use parent parking where I can. The youngest one can't buckle his seat belt because of the position of his booster and I have to open the door fully to get in over the top of him to do it. sometimes the 8yo struggles with his and needs help as well, also when he's getting out of the car he has to push the door open fully for it to catch, otherwise it will close back over on him.
I do see your point, but the definitely should be up to 12 years old, if not older. Also I have no problem with an older teen with additional needs needing the spaces.

My 5-year-old is still in an extended rear facing car seat so I need the space to fasten and unfasten her car seat. My kids will be in car seats until 12 or 135cm as per the law (and for safety) so 5 is too young to not be able to use them.

But yeah it is annoying and quite selfish when people who probably don't need them use them.

Some of the PC space at our supermarket aren't actually closer to the store but are next to the paths into the store. When I have both kids with me I get 5yo out first and ask her stand on the path while I get 1yo out. Or touching the car in the most protected spot if we're not next to a path. I know someone whose toddler was killed in a carpark so it's something I have always been really safety conscious of.

If I can't get a PC space I park somewhere I can open the door(s) wider. If I have both kids this usually means parking further away in an emptier part of the car park (although once someone inexplicably still parked right next to me on the baby's side when there was a whole row of empty spaces 😩).

Agree.

I also think that the bar for attaining a blue badge should be lowered, and that supermarkets should make a higher percentage of their spaces disabled spaces.

My son is currently going through his DLA assessments to see if he qualifies for funding and the mobility element so we can then apply for a blue badge, but until such point, that doesn't mean his need for a space does not exist.

That said, there are never any disabled parking spaces free either, and there's a higher chance of getting a parent and child spot, and we do need the space as well as the close proximity to the door so for now, we muddle through.

Why is walking with a baby so dangerous?

You are not being unreasonable on so many levels. Not least when they are old enough to undo their seatbelt at @3-4yrs, they hop out the car, flinging the door wide open, denting the adjacent car if in a ‘normal’ parking space. I remember when all child spaces were gone having to sprint around to the door to stop them flinging it into the next car.

YABU based on your age range. My nearly 6 year old still needs help doing her seat belt up and getting out the car as she is short, so still needs the extra space to get in and out.

YANBU that people using them with their teenage children are taking the piss.

My 8 year old won't let us use them now if it is just her as she says she doesn't need it. I still think the extra room is helpful at her age though as she is still having to climb down out of a car seat. Certainly children who no longer need a car seat shouldn't be using them (unless special needs).

Total rubbish. Blue badges seriously don’t cover unseen disabilities. Your lack of understanding shows you know nothing about raising a neurodiverse child. Whilst I don’t disagree that individuals are ridiculous in taking advantage of P&C slots, I would also ask you to consider unseen disabilities which, not being profoundly physically disabled, are not considered for a blue badge. If you think that everyone who has a disabled child gets a blue badge then you’re showing extreme ignorance as to who is entitled to a blue badge.

P&C spaces are set as a courtesy. They are not a right! Those that have a right have to jump through extreme hoops to prove it. Being a parent of a child liable of happily being ignorant of their surroundings to the point that they cycle/walk/run into roads, trees off cliffs FFS does not enable you to have a blue badge which comes with a whole host of other privileges, not least parking in disabled slots.

Exactly!!! P&C spaces should be placed somewhere away from disabled spaces, that way people wouldn’t use them as convenience and only those that needed to use them would do so. Parents with children need the extra space to open doors and get their young children. Parents with unseen disabilities need to know they can open doors, restrict their charges from running amuck and control them into the shops. Putting them next to disabled user’s slots just encourages abuse.

In my local Sainsbury's the P&C spaces are a decent distance from the entrance, which is great as I've never seen someone without a younger child park there. Unlike Asda, where parents and young adults rock up and park because they can.

Ours are exactly the same. I have no idea why Asdas are so close to the door.

I think most people who disagree with you are people with disabilities (or parent a child with a disability) and we know how utterly awful it is to have an entitled stranger make enquiries about your personal life in a supermarket.
You had one anecdote about one person. It is also wrong, there is a standard BB book/guide and that is not in there.
We are sharing multiple experiences and this is from multiple people. As I said, I wouldn’t unnecessarily park in a P&C space because it costs nothing to be kind but I’d also hold a door open and let someone with 1 item go in front of me if I had a full trolley.

You may think it’s polite to ask but I guarantee someone will take it the wrong way. Why risk a nasty piece of work going for you while you’re with your children? It’s far more unsafe to do that!

I've already said that I think more should be done to blue badge people with unseen disabilities, and in general get any disabled person a blue badge much quicker. If people need the spaces I don't have an issue, it's when people are using and abusing it out of laziness is what I, and many others, consider selfish. Yes I know there are disabilities that can't be seen and I will try and not get riled up when I see it happening, but I'm uncomfortable and pregnant with a toddler so the thought didn't really cross my mind when I saw a physically abled woman use the space and then proceed to mock me when I questioned her on it.
@Tahinii I made every effort to highlight the anecdote I gave was in fact an anecdote, I did not say it was fact.

I think car parking spaces are just a nightmare these days. They’re shrinking and cars and growing. I’m a regular sized 12 person and I find it almost impossible on some car parks to get myself out of my car without injuring myself. When I’m on my own I try for an end spot. Even the ends that often have shrubs growing in them. lol.

My kids are 11&14 and I confess that I do still use parent spaces if they’re available and my kids are with me. My 14 year old is especially clumsy, autistic, and can just fling a door without realising. Even today in a regular space my 11 year old caught the next car with the door. Luckily it didn’t make a scratch or anything as it was a gentle knock. She’s quite petite but can sometimes struggle to get out of the car.

It’s the space that’s needed and not always the proximity to the shop. I’ve happily parked as far away from the door as possible just to get a space I can drive in and out of easily and physically get myself in and out of easily.

Our local Aldi is the worst for adults without kids parking in the parent bays. Usually they are older but not eligible for a blue badge I’m guessing. I can see why they do it as some of them struggle to get themselves out of their cars. Weirdly the blue badge spaces are usually empty - possibly because it’s quite hard to get one in some areas.

The worst offender o came across was when o did have my baby on her car seat and we parked in a roof top car park. Can’t recall if it was a parent space or regular. But due to the direction of the parking another car parked with its back end right up against our drivers side doors. We literally couldn’t get into it. Can’t even recall if they were in an actual space or just plonked their car on the end of our row but the fact they reversed so far back that we couldn’t get into our car at all from the drivers side made us mad. The passenger side was next to another car at a regular spaces gap so we struggled to get the car seat in from that side and I had to climb over to get to driver seat. Not the first time. I’ve come back on occasion at the supermarket having left my car in a regular spot with a space next to it to a car having parked so close to the driver side I’ve had to climb on through passenger side.

I have to say this makes my blood boil. Once I was shopping with my 3 month old I had to park in a regular space and someone parked so close next to me it was impossible to get the car seat and baby back into the car. I barely got in. I was alone with DC and had to leave him unattended in the pram in the middle of the car park whilst I backed out enough to open the door to get him in. All sorted some lazy person with no kids could get closer to the shops. I agree put them further away to put people off parking there unnecessarily.
Shopping with kids is stressful enough

This!! It's not about the walk, it's about the room to get the blinking car seat out ! I honestly think them being further away (so lazy fookers aren't tempted to use them) it's the answer - but give you the extra space to get the car seat out!

My mid sixty year old dad likes to claim we can use parent and child because, well, we're parent and child!

You are being unreasonable. Take the bus next time.

Being pregnant with a toddler sounds unusual and I'd imagine quite uncomfortable? omg! the birth?

When my youngest were baby's I used to park at the opposite end of the car park away from everyone else. Yes the odd occasion I would use the parent and child ones but found it better just parking further away.

Haha, yeah I have the gestational tine of an elephant, he'll be born aged 2 😂
*Pregnant with baby + have a toddler

It seems the more accommodations we make in society now the worse off we are. For everything we create from special parking spaces there is a whiplash of people complaining that someone got more .

Baby brain for about 4 years 😆

Like I said earlier - if there would be enough humanity, then only people who really need those spaces would parked there. And no one would have a problem with that. Unfortunately this world is not that good.

YANBU, OP. So many people take the piss with this. My partner and I were reversing into a parent and child space the other day and we got the dirtiest look from a woman who had two boys in the car with her, roughly between the ages of 6-9. We have a 7 month old baby who we needed space to get a pram out for 🤨 People vastly miss the point of the purpose of these parking spaces. Idiots.