......to expect that people without children have the common decency to NOT park in the 'parent and toddler' bays!!!???

[Heebychick]

Grrrrrrrrr!

It drives ('scuse the pun) me mad when you have a toddler on your hip, it's pouring with rain, you are pregnant, have bags and purse to hand and have to park at the opposite end of the supermarket car park and make a wobbled dash to the shops.

Then as you run past the 'parent and toddler' marked bays you notice some lazy sod who 'didn't want to get wet running to the cash point so decided a parent and toddler bay would be easier'

"i'll only be a minute love, i'm just getting some cash out and it's raining"

ARGHHHHHH!!!

"i'm only about to slash your tyres .... LOVE"

Ok rant over, calm thoughts.

Message withdrawn

Yes, it's unthoughtful... but (being really honest here) before I had kids, I often used to park in them... I was in a pretty high pressured job and (if I did find time to pop out for lunch / groceries) I was always in a rush...

Now, I have a 9 month old and am nearly 5 months PG, I can see the other side of things and (if I don't have my DS with me) never park there (another admission: When I first started looking after my DSDs, I would leave car seats and booster seats in my car to make it look like I had kids )

but people without kids just don't realise how bloody inconvienient it is.

They just don't.

It would be nice, but it's never going to happen. You will always find people who do it.

I think that parent & toddler spaces should be at the very far end of the car park, because it's the bigger space you need, not closeness to the store. Hold the child's hand so they don't run off. No problem.

Hecate - as usual, you speak wisely!

It is annoying yes, especially when pregnant and with a toddler in tow.

would it be unreasonable for a very heavily pregnant woman with severe SPD to park in one?

Am effectively a parent. Need to be able to open the door widely etc.

Im only shuffling from carpark to the coffee shop to meet my fellow NCT-ers.

I thought it was time for another one of these...

OP, I totally agree. It is annoying. Especially when it's some twat in a sports car who doesn't want to get his/her hair wet.

ooh lol, x-posts on same thing there Hedge!

maybe they are parking with their 'inner child' you just don't know the whole story.

You weren't allowed a disabled badge? that's fecking outragious!! You should reapply.

Forgive my ignorance, but SPD doesn't disappear after birth does it? (or does it?) would it be worth reapplying?

funny i never see these sports car types parking at supermarkets. it is mostly ghastly gas guzzling tanks people carriers.

I agree with Hecate, I would rather have to walk across the car park if it meant we got a bigger space.
but I also agree somewhat with Haribosmummy that alot of childless people do not realise how hard it is getting lo's in and out of the car in normal spaces.

I think this will be one of those things that will always happen unfortunately and you just have to get used to it!

Agree Hecate. I would be happy to park away from the store and walk. In fact, I often do, as there are fewer cars, and it's less likely that some nonce will park so close to my car that I can only open the doors a few inches - not fun with a newborn and 20 month old. It's space that's needed, proximity to the store is not an issue for me.

It's the parents who park in P&T, then leave their children in the car that annoy me.....

pmsl at inner child.

I agree with Hecate. It's the space for getting children ot of car seats, pushchairs etc that you need.

And I think HedgeWitch should have been given a badge (or that there should be some sort of fast-track called 'I applied before and now it's worse'). But that's a whole separate question of how disabled parking spaces should work (need to be close to store and with extra space).

Hee hee...you sound like my DH OP. Since DS born, he has turned his rage of non-disabled people (why do they always drive BMWs?) parking in disabled bays (neither of us are disabled) to non-parents parking in parent and child.

Have to agree that being heavily pregnant should be taken into consideration for these spaces. Don't think many parents would complain at it as we all know what it's like.

if they are far away, and you have three small children, and a trolley, how do you hold all their hands, steer the trolley etc. they need to be near the door so the kids don't get squished.

Don't even get me started,
and also there is now a oneway system at our tesco , so I drove all the way round the carpark, the right way to get to the space right by the door for some other mum to drive in through no entry sign and nick the space

How are you planning on going round the supermarket then stroppyknickers?

They don't have to be the opposite side of the carpark, just a little bit away so they are no longer highjacked by people who 'just want to pop in for one quick thing'.

get home delivery..........