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.

This.

I have twins. So I needed one of those spaces ideally so I could open both rear doors and get both car seats out. If there wasn't one available, I mustered all my strength and parked in another space further away, with no cars near it. I don't know how I survived.

I think I might also be some kind of genius too. Because what I did, and bear with me here, is.... Parked, got out and locked the car, navigated the 15 second death defying gauntlet to one of the many trolley ports, then returned to the car, unlocked it, then got the twins out directly on to the trolley.

You are resourceful but I expect mother's of twins need to be. I used to have a neighbour who had 2 sets of twins under 3. She was so organised and on top of things it made me feel very inadequate.

They are for use with children that still need a pushchair/will sit in the child seat in the trolley, or younger!

We drove smaller cars that fitted spaces, we used local shops and walked, we left the children with our non-working mothers/weekends with our other half. We toured around looking for the few spaces that were on then end of a row, or we parked across two spaces if we were frazzled enough. But they have been around for decades now, in response to the need for both parents to work.

Sorry, but I would go into battle on this. My brother (who does not need one) is offered a blue badge because he has PiP mobility benefit. I believed it was automatic entitlement.

They’re not there for a need. They’re there because they make it easier for parents and the supermarket wants your custom. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re extremely helpful but they’re doing it for their profits, they don’t really give a shit.

Really? I don’t remember any of that. I remember taking three children round a supermarket regularly. Never occurred to me I should have a special parking space.

@GrannyRose15 did your children have car-seats, they needed strapped into?

Or are you of the vintage who's kids just jumped in the back seat loose, or using booster cushions with zero side impact protection?

I think the key fact is people drove smaller cars. Now some people drive massive SUVs that barely fit into some parking spaces.

What ever did we do before everyone owned their own car? Shopping got delivered or people didn't do big shops

People walked to the shop and shopped more often.

Shops were smaller and more local, so people could more easily walk to them. There weren't massive out of town supermarkets like now and less convenience food/ shorter shelf lives meant people shopped more frequently.

When our of town supermarkets started to become a thing some of them(such as Asda) put on few buses to get people there.

Mothers didn’t work is what we did. Would you like to go back to those days?

Yes and also the shopping trolley on the bus.

Surely as a working mother it would be more beneficial to get shopping delivered

That would work if their wage could run a car plus pay the extra £20+\week it would cost to shop online vs in store.
I have no inclination to believe that you have ever been a working mother, lest not one that works full-time, therefore I have a strong inclination to believe that you are talking from a place that lacks the ability to form words.

Genuinely can't believe there's a poster on here who had a fight with her own disabled mother over parking in P&C spaces when the disabled ones were full! It just shows that P&C spaces have created a sense of learned helplessness among parents. People are actually starting to see them as equivalent to disabled spaces! They're a marketing ploy, not a legal requirement.

I was a mother who worked in the 70s and 80s and didn't have a car, walked to the shop to do my shopping. Yes it was a pain but what was I supposed to do? Starve?

Well that varies, I live near to two supermarkets now, back in the 70s I was further away from a supermarket.

Are you seriously saying WOHMs are more entitled to P&C spaces than SAHMs?

P&C spaces were not created "in response to the need for both parents to work". They were created because companies wanted to encourage parents of young children into the shop, because they spend more money than childless people do. It has absolutely nothing to do with need - as several people have pointed out already, they'd be available at GPs, cinemas and so on if it were a need/safety issue. When P&C spaces are put at the back of the shop, they're usually left empty.

It seems that virtually everyone who says they need these spaces has a child with SEN (particularly autism). Maybe the P&C spaces should be replaced with SEN spaces, for both children and adults?

So people who don't qualify for a blue badge, on an honesty basis? Could work, but you'd still have people thinking they needed them more than others, and verbally abusing those they think don't need them.

15% of children In England have SEN. You are talking about a lot of children.
4.6% of all people in England have a Blue Badge.

How many times? We get this question ALL THE TIME. I doubt the car park is so large that you can’t carry your baby to the trolley - or use a sling. Most of us on here will have had children and I’m sure no-one starved because parents couldn’t get a parent and child space. The supermarkets don’t police these spaces so it’s down to luck on the day.

In my local supermarket they're called parent and toddler bays. Pretty much sets the tone for how old the kid should be.

Sadly doesn't stop some people who obviously disagree with the system and therefore show no regard for it.