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.

I suspect you will look back and realise that a four month old baby is extremely portable as your child grows older.

There’s P&C spaces at a gym?!

Well, I would say that parking for disabled people is worth making a deal about. Given that many disabled people wouldn't be able to go anywhere without it?

Mine are 5 and 3 and I've never felt hampered by not having a P&C space.

And it feels far safer to carry a baby through a carpark or push them through it in the trolley than to walk through it with small children. I feel much more in need of a safe route now with my 5yo (who is very well behaved and walks nicely but they all have their moments) than I ever did when she was a baby.

Perhaps your own perspective will change in time.

I think this post speaks volumes about how the OP views people with hidden disabilities.

Maybe it’s a leisure centre?

Surely that makes their lives harder

So you knew what was up with the teenager?
Did they have ASD?
Bowel disease and needed the loo in a hurry?
Deaf so they couldn't hear any cars coming their way?
Mental health problems?
Anxiety and scared?.
Colostomy?
Who made you judge and jury?
I'm very disabled and have a blue badge.. but l can manage to walk with a stick for a short distance.. so we leave the disabled parking spaces for someone who might have a wheelchair.
Who knows who needs these spaces more?

Yes, I think some disabled people do need them, unless we're happy for them to be housebound?

So parking for disabled people only then?

Does anyone need a parking space? Aren’t they all a courtesy except presumably blue badge spaces

Yes, there’s a crèche and there are kids/babies swimming lessons that kind of thing x

Portable? Yes. But getting a 10 week old out of the car in their seat onto the pram in a busy car park is hard and requires some contorsion. Even more difficult and painful when you had a c section. Also it's far less dangerous to have a P&C bay! If I have one I can put the pram down the side of the car. If I don't I have to put it on the road behind the car where it could get hit.

Aah fair enough I thought since when can people takes kids into the gym whatever next 😂

Agree with this, I think this would solve most the problems. I have a 5 and 2 yo, I'd much rather park at the back of the car park if it meant more room to get them in and out of the car seats. If it's not super busy that's what we tend to do anyway and hope nobody parks next to us, but people do so often even when theres loads of other empty ones. Still, can hardly get too worked up about it all.

Hi sorry I meant to quote you!

YANBU. People have short men when it comes to remembering how tricky it can be to shop with babies and small children. Parking in parent and child spaces when your kids are teenagers is ridiculous and selfish.

No.

People without kids who use P&C spaces are doing so because it’s closet to the shop.

Parents with babies and kids want to use them because of the space.

Win win

My youngest is 8 and dh still uses the child spaces sometimes not always. She’s 8 she’s in a car seat and can swing a door like a baseball player hitting a home run ball.

Most of the time with any age child it’s actually just easier to park as far away as possible as long as there is a path.

Oh op. Park in a p&c if available, use a bog standard space otherwise. The end. Don't waste your time fretting about this stuff.

YABU and just LOL at your dilemma at possibly being forced to walk across the car park with a four month old in your arms.

I raise you a 6, 4 & 2yo. It’s first come first served, I usually don’t bother because they host the most entitled people with the most shit parking of the supermarket. Thankfully I’m really good at using the four thousand zebra crossings every single supermarket has 🫠

Well, I think disabled people may need parking spaces, which is why we have blue badges. I'm not convinced that anyone else does. P&C spaces are just a nice to have, not a necessity.

Things would be so much easier if they rethought the width of parking spaces across the board. I read something a few months back talking about "carbesity" - apparently there are 150 models of cars that are simply too big to fit a standard UK space. They were designed back in the 70s based on the sizes then, but with additional safety zones etc whereas a parked car took up around 69% of the space, now it's more like 89%.

Apparently there's guidelines going to be coming into force (guidelines vs legislation though) to increase size by around 9% .. but I bet that's only new car parks.

@seize I’m not sure what I have done to provoke that response? I have merely pointed out that it’s difficult to be awarded with a blue badge and that at a time such a holiday where there are more families, you will no doubt encounter more disabled families. You probably haven’t experienced this as your baby is so young.