What is the Mumsnet consensus on P&C spaces?

[JacquesHarlow]

As per many people, I’ve been out at supermarkets and retail parks around 8 times this Christmas. 5 of those in Surrey, one in Wythenshawe, the rest in the Newcastle area.

My DCs are not toddlers any more so I don’t have the same “will the door open wide enough to take out the car seat and plug it into the pram system” dilemna.

However I have huge empathy for the mothers (and on occasion dads) who I do see doing this. There’s a lovely convenience to parking in a bay where you can pull the pram alongside, open the door wide enough, then take out the seat and baby in one go.

So why is it that on all eight occasions, I’ve seen large SUVs with a solo occupant, the majority of them women, pull into a P&C bay, walk out, and then shoot that filthy “I dare you to challenge me” look?

it is honestly fascinating to me to see how often this happens now. These folk are not in any way visually disabled or physically showing any signs of disability, although if they were, there were numerous disabled spaces available in every car park I saw this happen in.

Nope, these were people who just wanted “premium” parking. They were blatant about it. There were no elderly passengers, hidden disabilities or anything else.

Am I going to get the usual Mumsnet gaslighting of “you don’t know what a person is going through” or are we going to accept that people are CFs who want to take anything that is available to someone else in case they feel like they’re the ones missing out?

I am curious to see if the overwhelming consensus on Mumsnet is that because we had to struggle without the spaces, then NO ONE deserves to have them. That we shouldn’t make life more comfortable for mums and dads with newborns and toddlers, because those spaces really should be for everyone.

so let’s see

YABU - Those spaces shouldn’t be for parents. They should be for everyone

YANBU - Those people who selfishly park there are wrong and this is why we can’t have nice things.

I've noticed this too however not so much the stereotype that you're describing. Anything from couples to single men in a shitty old car parking in the P&C spots. It infuriates me beyond belief as I have the small baby and really appreciate the extra space!
I am however equally as bad as them I suppose as if there are no P&C spaces remaining, I will go park in a disabled bay (in a supermarket where there's usually at least 3 rows dedicated to them and plenty available).

I think they should be moved to the furthest area of a car park to avoid people who don’t need to use them to be able to park right at the entrance of the store which is our observation.
I also usually just see people who want to protect their special cars using them. Sometimes drivers who aren’t competent , still parking diagonally in the bay despite the additional space.
If there are not enough blue badge spots then those should be increased. I have a chronic condition but not eligible for a badge but don’t use the bays unless I’m with my children. I’m happy to park at the furthest point in the car park but I still always end up with people parked on either side of me 🤷‍♀️

My view is that we don't need P&C spaces.

What we do need is larger spaces which cost extra to use - which people with bigger cars can use. And which could also be used by someone who needs more space, eg if they've broken their leg but it's only a temporary situation.

Charge more, and I suspect that many parents will find that they can manage just fine with the normal spaces.

Alternatively - put the P&C spaces at the far end of the car park and I also think you'll fine most parents can manage without.

When my ds was small, there weren't many P&C spaces and there was always a queue to use them. I was far too impatient for that so I just found an underused part of the car park and parked where I could easily get the door open.

You're not "equally as bad", you're a million times worse.

Hope you get a ticket.

Every time I go to the supermarket old men are parked in the P&C bay apparently (I've confronted a few) waiting for their wives...
I was seething yesterday because I spent ages driving round a carpark looking for a space to get the car seat out of the car (4 year old I could have managed but not the car seat)
Ended up luckily finding 2 spaces the furthest away - which I'm fine with, I wish theyd put the bays there to stop people parking in them - to see not one but two couples 70+ getting into their cars with no kids. There were LOADS of disabled bays so it wasn't that. It really drives me mad.

We had one due to my baby having numerous health issues. They are very dufficult to use. I used to have to go home if I couldn't get p+c at busy times when car parks were full.

Just because someone is elderly does not mean they have a BB and are therefore entitled to park in BB bays.

I know that's what I said - they weren't disabled as they didn't have a blue badge, they were just lazy.

I’m in the camp of you shouldn’t be using the car seat outside of the car. Just because it’s sold as a perk doesn’t mean it’s good for the baby.

How do you know?

Haha this is why I LOVE Mumsnet

@Notmyreality my favourite part is that you clearly “edited” this post 🤣 so much thought and craft going into the gaslighting

I challenged a man in his work van in our local supermarket. He said his van got damaged in a normal space and he didn't care. 🤷‍♀️

This is the problem @Lovelong - they don’t care. You either get a mouthful of abuse or you get indifference.

So many folk in today’s society are so frightened that if they don’t grab that space, someone else will who isn’t meant to be there. And then they miss out.

It’s hard with P&C because they could simply say they’re off to pick the child up (and will be coming back with it). I have flagged down someone parking in a disabled space with ‘excuse me, you’ve forgotten to display your blue badge’ which is less arguable if they don’t have one, and a helpful reminder if they do have one 😇😉

They didn't have a blue badge in the window and even if they were disabled they shouldn't be parked in a parent and child bay any more than a parent should park in the disabled bay, if which there were many spaces, imo.

P&C spaces are just a marketing gimmick. Disabled spaces are not.
A lack of disabled spaces could mean the difference between a disabled person being able to park up and shop, or not at all.
And a lot of elderly people have mobility issues and and do not have BB, either because hey are not disabled "enough" or through a sense of pride.

I don’t think those without a pre school aged child should use the spaces. I don’t think a blue badge driver should even park there and I say this as someone with a blue badge. Likewise I don’t think pregnant women should use them either. Finally if you’re not employed by the supermarket speak to someone in store rather than approaching customers you believe aren’t entitled to park in a place. It’s not your job, nothing to do with you.

You would probably have hated seeing my nearly 11 year old getting out of the car parked in one of the p and c spaces, before we had the BB to display. Imagine being so bothered about a parking space..

Blue badge "trumps" all. A blue badge holder has every right to park in a p and c space, regardless of how many bb spaces are available. I dont understand at all how the two things could even be considered remotely the same!

Yep, so many wannabe parking attendants out there. If you want to police other people's parking then get a job doing it.

I remember passing the security desk in a supermarket and someone was telling the staff there that a car was parked in a BB space. It had a BB, but was "not the sort of car disabled people drive"... whatever the fuck that meant.
My best friend has a BB and has a 2 seater sporty car.

The vast majority of people with disabilities are not entitled to blue badges, and yet many of those not so entitled are less able to walk a distance to the entrance than parents with children. The distance you have to be unable to walk to get a badge, for instance, is 50 metres. On a bad day I can barely walk 200m. If I have to park 100m from the supermarket, and back, then I cannot enter the shop. If I park in a P&C on a bad day, I can reach the pharmacy, and buy a few bits. I am lucky that I am having fewer runs of bad days, but I cannot help but think of other disabled people for whom this is not true.

Disability is different. A child who is able to get in and out of the car doesn’t need a p&c space. Parents with babies and toddlers and very young children need the extra space.

Perhaps supermarkets should convert the current P&C spaces into additional disabled spaces and use some space at the back of the car park for P&C spaces where there is less likelihood of other people using the spaces?

Camera's what?

To park in a disabled bay, you need a BB. Reasonable adjustments don’t come into it. They are enforceable.

A P&C bay is a retailer courtesy usually and they are not enforceable.