To think this woman was taking the piss?

[AngeloMysterioso]

In a supermarket car park with two DS’s, 2yrs and 11 months. It’s pretty busy (half term round here) and the car in front of me takes the last parent and baby space, leaving me to park in a regular space opposite and squeeze baby and toddler out of the car and into the trolley which outs had to put in the road.

Fair enough I guess, first come first served and all that, until I see the woman getting out of the car with a girl who looks about ready to sit her GCSE’s, who both saunter into the shop.

As it happened, we were both getting back to our cars at the same time, and I asked her if she was aware that she had parked in a parent and baby space. She said she was, but her car is too big for a regular space and she didn’t want it to get scratched. The car in question was a shiny black Jaguar 4x4.

AIBU to think this woman was entitlement personified?

There’s a chance I reminded her that the space is for parents with children, not parents with children and people with big cars, and if she’s so concerned about scratches she needs to learn to park her ridiculous car properly or get something smaller.

I once pulled into a parent and child space with my three children at same time as a solo guy driving a Range Rover-maybe late fifties early sixties but dressed young and looked like he took care of
himself. My eldest was about six and chatting away to me when we walked past him and I cut her off and said ‘yes I know he’s parked in a baby space with no baby but he’s very old and maybe he’s a bit confused!’ Passive aggressive all the way 😁😁

Don’t be absurd! So parents of small children are supposed to always get shopping delivered at £5 a go, can’t get a slot for another 2/3 days so better not need anything urgently, in order not to inconvenience entitled arseholes in giant cars who want to use P&C spaces they don’t need?

She's an entitled CF

They're just 'marketing spaces'.

If people with red hair spent the most money in supermarkets, they'd make special spaces for them instead.

Amazing how excited some people get about P&C spaces - there must be a thread every other week, if not more often.

Park where you like, as long as you're not abusing disabled spaces.

Were you the person in the car by any chance 😉

Really it’s for the supermarkets to decide, not any of the customers. It’s also not illegal to park in a disabled bay at the supermarket, as its private land. The same with P&C spaces.

A lot of smaller younger children are effectively disabled as they don’t yet have the use of their legs, so the door needs to open wider to accommodate getting the small child out.

Effectively it boils down to the same thing - compassion for individuals with needs that differ from your own. You can decide what type of person you want to be, that’s just free will I guess. No one is going to cuff you and take you off for doing it. But then again lots of things aren’t illegal but still wanky behaviour…

£5 a go?

Of course it wasn't me. And I have never actually parked in a P&C space, even when I had a young child.

Disabled spaces are absolutely not comparable with P&C spaces, whatever you may think.

Depriving someone of a disabled space may be the difference between them being able to go to the shop and having to go straight home, not just a bit of inconvenience parking elsewhere.

@Drcake Yellow disabled bays are legally enforceable, private land or not. P&C are not.

Did she actually say that or did you imagine that's what she would say?

Not so easy if you need to walk to the other side of the car park to get a twin trolley. Also, to those saying order on line - I used to like being out and about when my dc were little; not keen on internet shopping.

Those without little ones who use these spaces are being incredibly selfish. Get a car you can park!

Actually according to our local supermarket it's for parents with school age children up to 16!

It’s not about what I think or feel, it’s just a fact. It is not illegal to park in a disabled bay at the supermarket. The law does not cover private land - check it out for yourself in the equality act. They are not legally able to make anyone display a blue badge. The supermarket are legally required to make provisions for disabled people (normally 5% or the carpark).

I’m just saying that when you and others are pearl clutching over the morality / legal aspects of disabled spaces but not P&C, you are wrong. They are viewed on private land by law as one and the same.

It’s hugely unfair to parents that need the extra width of a space to accommodate the very large car seats (that by law we are - rightly so - all required to have for our children). Especially when it’s simply some plonker that can either - barely afford their car so are terrified it will get damaged or can barely drive their car so feel more comfortable seeking extra space out.

I don’t believe in parking in spaces for any section of society that need different accommodations to me. If it’s not meant for you, just use one of the other many spaces in the carpark and don’t worry about it. But then, I can drive my car / bay park and my car isn’t beyond my price point that it then ends up owning me.

Most of the supermarkets specify under 12 on the signs, your descriptor could justify me using a. P&C space when I go shopping with my mum. I’m 42.

This is the problem, they all have different requirements! Some are just for up to toddlers, others 12's, now you're saying 16! All these people getting irate over it when they are all different! But then the P&C spaces near me seem to get taken up by lone men without any carseats in their car, empty or otherwise!

It may be that she was being a knob, BUT, her teenage looking child, may have been a lot younger than you thought, and/or may have had all sorts of additional needs that you’re unaware of. I say this as the mother of a 10 year old who has always looked bigger and older than her years and who has faced a significant amount of prejudice as a result.

I never bothered with parent and child spaces when my children were small. They are just a bit of supermarket PR not a social justice issue.
Perhaps they should be rebranded as 'Spaces for people who, for whatever reason, either need a bigger gap or need to feel entitled to spaces that other people aren't allowed to use.'
They'd need to be lovely and big then, just so the description would fit in.

So interestingly I actually experienced this today and thought of this thread.

I had to take one of my children to an appointment today - I had a 5yo who can’t do his own seatbelt clasp and a toddler who obviously has a big car seat. I am pregnant, not too big yet though.

I Used a car park that has no P&C spaces. I parked near the back when it was quiet, and on an end space so I could move over as much as possible. I have a mini countryman so not a huge car.

when I got back an Audi Q7 was parked next to me and I literally couldn’t open the door wide enough to get me and my toddler in to strap him in - you can see where I left space as much as I could and the other car couldn’t really have left more space because of its size. In the end I had to sort of chuck the toddler in and then climb through the centre of the car via my own passenger seat so I could strap them in.

so to all the people saying “I got in without a space, they aren’t really needed” - they are when we need to have car seats and when people have big cars. When parking spaces are usually quite small. It makes a big difference to this who need them

Does the car run on fairy dust?

I got fined for forgetting to display the disabled badge in a disabled space in a retail park car park. That's also private land... Are you saying they fined me illegally?

These type of people infuriate me, see it all the time in our local Tesco especially, big usually fairly new car, much older or often no kids leaving people struggling to get prams out in normal spaces, often see works vans too, but there is zero enforcement of these parking spaces so people do what they want

@Wordsmithery yes, if it’s private land then they aren’t legally able to operate the blue badge system. They are able to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers, for example car parking spaces (as well as parent and child), but you have no legal right to ask an individual to display a blue badge. Therefore if a private carpark has fined you, they are not legally allowed to enforce the blue badge scheme and they may get in trouble for actually trying to do so!

Must be a challenge to get in and out of a car at all with such a big chip on your shoulder.

Not everyone who has an expensive car doesn't want it damaged because they can't afford it. 😂

@CagneyAndLazy I don’t think my chip is about what other people buy for themselves, it’s more the odd behavior of taking something that’s meant for somebody else….I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it is 😉

Do you never get wound up by sheer selfish entitlement? Surely you have a line in your own morality and it irritates you when others breach it?

No, you're quite right of course. And I certainly do get annoyed by selfishness and thoughtlessness.

I suppose I just think it's not the preserve of people with expensive cars. I get yoir point, though.

Behave yourself