Do you use parent & child spaces when you don’t have a child?

[incognito1991]

I’ve just got back from my local retail park, which is where my nearest supermarket is and getting increasingly wound up. My 2 year old DD was asleep so I sat in the car for 10 minutes until she woke and we could go to the shop. Within those 10 minutes I saw 3 different cars parking in a parent and child bay and it was only them, no child, not pregnant, just selfish. No matter where I go I struggle to get a parent and child space because they’re all taken up by idiots with no children, I even see people with older children use these spaces, I think they should specify it’s for babies and toddlers not your 10 year old. I really struggle getting my DD in and out of the car in a normal bay as I can’t open the door wide enough, can barely squeeze her in aswell as leaning in to strap her in. If you park in one of these spaces I’d love to hear your reasons please.

Try being disabled.

Irrelevant now as I have a baby and I'm pregnant but if the disabled were full (usually with no badges displayed) and I had my disabled husband with me I'd use them

It's the same here.
The amount of times I had to just go home and try another day as there was no child parking free. I had twins and I NEEDED the bigger space to have any chance of getting both sides of the car open wide enough for both car seats.
It's mostly single males that I've noticed parking there and they just hurl abuse if you dare question them.

If i have my elderly dm with me who struggles to walk far yet isn't eligible for a blue badge, yep.

How do you manage in all the car parks without p&c spaces?

The local big Sainsbury’s is entirely populated by people without blue badges or children parking in the designated spots close to the door.

As someone who couldn’t get my newborns car seat back in the side of the car because of how close another car had parked to me in a ‘normal’ space this absolutely infuriates me. The p&c were all taken and whilst I was trying to strap his seat into the passenger seat I saw 2 people without children walk back to their cars. I don’t mind walking further to the shop but I prefer the extra space to get my kids in and out of the car safely!

Only when no disabled bays left... which is often.. because those are taken up by able people with no blue badge.. it's a vicious circle really..

In defence of the people with slightly older children: sometimes toddler wrangling / getting small runners safely in and out of the car is really really hard, so it's not just for people with babies.

And now I would use them if I were with mum (v disabled, blue badge) if we couldn't park in the disabled space. Otherwise, no. To be honest, my mum would need it way more than I ever did with twin babies and a running toddler.

But the people who don't have disabilities or children? They can fuck right off for parking there.

I don’t abuse them because im not a dickhead and I do have young children

most people I see using them without kids drive overpriced and oversized cars and exit them with a swagger of self importance and entitlement

I don’t buy the whole “try being disabled” line - those parking spaces are no where near as abused as parent and child bays. At my local Sainsbury’s I’d say the disabled bags are usually 80% empty and yet piss takers without children will use the parent bays of which there are half the number of the disabled ones

Only if I’ve got my 28 year-old son with me

Blue badge disability spaces are legally enforceable and parent and child spaces aren't, so of course there are going to be differences in the way people use them.

No I don't use them without my children as I know how hard it can be with a baby or toddler without having a P&C space.
But I disagree with you saying older children shouldn't use them. I use them with my nearly 9 year old (the general accepted limit is 12 years old) as they usually have safer walkways to the shops not necessarily closer to the door where I live though.

I did when I was on crutches.

Only if it’s like 10.30 at night with no children around anyway

Could not go to my doctor appointment that I had waited 5 weeks for as someone had parked over the dropped kerbs . It’s far worse than just the parking in established car parks.

I don't use the space but there's no point getting annoyed about it. I mean someone could ask why you were using it, isn't the bigger space more needed for someone with a baby getting a car seat in and out. Or someone shopping but you were using it for a nap - as per pp someone with new born twins could have come along in that time.

Sometimes I do if there aren't enough other spaces, in my local aldi for instance, it's not a massive car park like some bigger supermarkets. It's been known for the car park to be nearly full, in which case, I would possibly use a p&c space if one came up, as they are not enforceable.

I think the enforcement is pretty much the same in a private carpark isn't it? For both it relies on a breach of contract rather than any law being broken.

Harder to ticket someone in a P&C space obviously as no way of telling whereas they can see if there is a blue badge.

No. But I think people who care about P&C spaces are beyond daft to get wound up about it.

I have a 2.5yo, and never with my mega pregnant belly 35c have I struggled to get myself a spot I could fit.

Find a real problem.

I did with my first husband when disabled was full. One woman had a full on tantrum over it once as I assembled his wheelchair from the boot, that was fun.

I don’t but I don’t understand why p&c spaces aren’t enforceable like disabled spots. A small shop car park near me has 1 p&c spot and that issues a fine if you don’t have a child physically leaving the car. Someone had a baby but the baby stayed in the car and they were issued a fine - again not sure if that’s legally enforceable though?!

What a race to the bottom of a comment.

I don't have any issue with someone using a p&c space if the disabled spaces are full or if they have an elderly person with them for example. But our local shopping centre is the same as op describes, every time I go I see people coming and going with no children, no blue badge, no crutches or elderly people or similar and disabled spaces available. The p&c spaces also are not actually closer to the Door of the shopping centre but are closer to the pavement.

It's pure laziness honestly I think in a lot of cases and just selfish. It's actually so bad that I've changed shopping centre now to one with more bays and wider bays.

I sympathise as I have two young children in car seats and it can be a squeeze and it’s annoying when people use the spaces without children. But I’ve never had to go home because there aren’t P&C spaces available, I’ve always just squeezed them in and managed. Lots of places don’t even have P&C spaces.

If you want my space, you can have my…er…child 🤔

And your 9 year old is not smart enough to walk safely across the car park, either alone of holding your hand?
9 year olds used to go to the shops on their own!