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

[seize]

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.

So am I allowed to use the parent and child bays with my 10 and 14year old, both big for age and autistic. Neither is eligible for a blue badge where I live (despite getting lower rate mobility due to being a danger to themselves). The 14yo has no road sense whatsoever and will just walk in whichever direction without looking to see if there are cars, or he might forget what he was doing in the middle of the road. Younger one has great road sense but is oppositional and easily becomes overwhelmed by crowds and noise, which can lead to meltdowns or the fight/flight response kicking in, meaning he runs without really being aware of his surroundings.
Again neither is eligible for a blue badge in my county.

A supermarket near me did this and parents flooded their FB page complaining about having to walk so far. 😂

Looks like you were right next to the baby trolleys, so go and get one and then get baby out of the car.

RebeccaCloud9 · 03/04/2024 16:56
I've just come back from the supermarket. One p&c space was taken by an elderly woman with a stick but no blue badge. So a perfectly justified and genuine use of the space by someone not technically allowed but who would actually benefit from it.

That woman (and any other disabled person) is MORE entitled to use P&C spaces if they need them than anybody else.

Anybody who uses the term 'technically' as a qualifier sounds ridiculous. It is or it isn't.

Their poor little feeble leggins...
It really is all about the 'special space' which must be 'very close indeed' for some entitled parents.

Use them if you think you need them.
You've certainly more right to.use them than single guys who think theyll only be 10mins.

I also think BB scheme should be administered nationally not LA buzzy bodies making up their own rules.
That would save some admin costs

But who on earth are you that she would HAVE to answer you? You have no actual authority over the spaces or to question people. Take.it.up with the shop and they'll fine the person if they want to but I can't understand the arrogance of people thinking they themselves have the right to go up to people like this.

I agree. A car is not a privilege these days. Many people need one because public transport in many towns and villages is fucking dire. DH and I could never be without our car.

DH works 18 miles away and does weird shifts, sometimes finishing at 11pm to midnight, or 5 or 6 in the morning. He would never be able to use public transport.

Taxis would cost so much that it wouldn't be worth him working, and we have no buses in our village. Closest bus stop is 2 miles away. Even if he worked 'days' it would take him 2 hours to get to work. And 2 hours back! (When you include the 40 minute walk to the bus stop!) And no he is NOT cycling. It's too far, and too dangerous. (Mixture of unlit country lanes with no footpaths, and a very busy main A-road.)

ALSO, the nearest shops are 3.5-4 miles, and so is the GP, car garage, pharmacy, dentist, etc etc...

In addition, our 2 adult DC live 14-15 miles away, and it takes 1.5 hours to get to them by public transport. (And that doesn't include the 40 minute walk to the bus stop.) It takes 20 minutes by car. Like fuck is a car a privilege, it's an necessity.

Surely half of mumsnet have really easy lives if we apply that criteria to every thread, does it matter?

So people without cars who get shopping delivered are privileged?

You should absolutely use the space; max age is 12 and you need it. When the youngest reaches 12, if you can't get a blue badge then consider asking the local manager if it would be ok, so that you can get an email saying it's fine even if their staff challenge you.

Nobody said that, you are being ridiculous. But many people cannot afford to get their shopping delivered.

@Notmyuser good point. Its not just the delivery cost the cheaper shops (Lidl and Aldi) tend not to have an online order / delivery service.

Someone upthread said deliveries were for the privileged, given that not everyone owns a car, how that can be true and £2 per delivery is alot cheaper than running a car

People may need the car for other things. But budget shops like Lidl and Aldi don't do deliveries.

YANBU. People are so selfish these days.

The extra space is to allow someone to open the door wide to lift a child in/out of a baby seat. To be able to put the buggy etc next to the door to do so. To be able to safely walk the child to the kerb between cars

@seize I had the best ever P&C space encounter today. I was sitting feeding my baby in a P&C space. There was only one free one, next to me. Two women pulled in. No kids in the back. Whilst they were fiddling about getting ready to get out another car came along with multiple young children in car seats. They stopped nearby and were waiting for someone to leave, but getting increasingly frazzled with (at least one) screaming child in the back.

When the ladies next to me got out of the car they appeared to be able and didn't have a blue badge. I politely asked if they were aware these were parent and child spaces for people with young children. The older woman said 'yes, I am. This is my child, I'm her mother.' And just walked off! Very rude.

Just wait til you actually have a 6 & 8 year old opening doors onto other cars .. you’ll soon agree with the current under 10’s most shops currently have for the mother & child spaces!

Whatever did we all do before parent and child parking spaces were invented?

Why not have more blue badge spaces and all other spaces accessible to everyone with the trolleys located throughout the carpark. Put in bike parking with spaces able to take large bikes and also secure charging points and also more motorbike places. I’d keep blue badge right by the doors and then all other spaces away from this area to reduce the number of cars going by the entrance. Have a covered walk way from the bus stops as well.

My husband is disabled, has had a blue badge for over 30 years but he is a rule follower and if the disabled spaces are full and there is a whole row of P&C spaces empty he won't use one. It drives me mad, he either ends up in a space which is too far from the door for him to walk and I do the shopping alone or he waits for a space to be available.

I have an off peak delivery pass for Sainsbury's, you can use it tuesdays/wednesdays/thursdays and is £40 for the year. Brilliant value for me as less than £1 per delivery.

Simple, Parents didn't need to buckle kids into carseats. Lots of the time kids sat lay, kneeled up and waved at the drivers behind them. Very safe - not!
Carseats, better side impact protection on current carseats, makes getting kids in and out more difficult.
P&C spaces are a direct requirement to carseats and the difficulty in getting little people into cars.
Cars were also smaller in relation to spaces, so easier to get in and out.

Sainsbury's isn't exactly a budget supermarket. Budget places Aldi and Lidi don't do deliveries.

I shop at Sainsburys and Lidl, Sainsburys can be very competitive. Their budget range, Stanford St or something like that, is very good quality and their fruit and veg are much better in my local branches but I know that varies. I stock up on things when they have good offers. I do use Lidl but I don't think it is always cheaper.