To park in a P&Toddler space with a 'baby'?

[eggontoast]

I often wonder.

I hate it when childless people abuse the system, but do some people (morrisons says Parent and Toddler, others just parent and child), mind when a parent with a baby uses them?

Don't be so silly - of course they are designed for people with babies in prams as well.

those spaces are designed so that you can open your car door wide enough to strap small children/babies in safely.

As children get older, they can climb in through a tiny gap and strap themselves in which is when you should stop using the wider spaces.

They are for people with under 5s, so yes babies are OK

I have a toddler and a baby, when I use them with both I feel fine, but when I only have the baby in a car seat, I think, OH, will anyone object!!

I thought maybe they said 'Toddler' because they are there to make it safer with a toddler that could run in the road, rather than to open car doors.

No, it's so that you have space to strap your child in safely, and get him/her out without braining them on the car roof. (DS has had his head lightly bopped once or twice when P&T spaces are full.)

You are certainly not being unreasonable. it's only unreasonable to use the spaces if your child is clearly at secondary school as was another 'child' I saw the last time my Dad took us to the supermarket (we don't drive, so only go in the car when my Dad/FIL give us a lift), or the couple I saw pulling out of a space with no children whatsoever...

Of course you can use the spaces. And you have every right to feel inignant when you see them taken up by cars with no baby/toddler/booster seats in them, because if the child is old enough to not need them, they're old enough to park elsewhere!

But they might have the kind of baby seat which they take into the supermarket on top of the trolley... or on wheels....

But to answer the actual question - no problem at all with a baby, toddler, small child generally. It's to give you space to get them in and out safely.

Ok, as no one has said it is not OK, I'll assume it is OK and carry on!!

Definitely ok with a baby! If baby is in a car seat you fit onto a trolley you need one of those spaces just to get the damn thing out of your car ( seat... not baby ). I once had to tip DD1 upside down in hers just to negotiate the tiny gap in an ordinary space. Also baby in arms, handbag, bits & bobs, trolley... you need to be near the entrance before you drop everything
Anyone who dares to tell you otherwise... you also have full permission to shout at them very loudly like a mad woman. They'll soon jog on!

honeybunmum, more than once I had to put DD3 in her car seat into the boot so I could move the car out of the space to get her car seat through the gap. Not helped by the mahoosive doors on my people carrier. And the sod's law that dictates when you park miles away from the doors with empty spaces on either side, someone will still come along and park right next to you. On both sides.

AMumInScotland - but with the smallest carseat, don't they clip into a bit which stays in the car? That looks pretty much like a booster seat when the attachment is unclipped. (Sorry, those are the only baby seats I've come across, feel free to correct - I wasn't trying to be flippant!)

With DS I had one which came completely out of the car and clipped onto the chassis which you could also use with a carrycot or a pushchair seat. But that was 16 years ago, so they've probably been banned, or proved to be dangerous or cause dandruff or something by now ....

Goodness, I've never thought about that.

I use P&T spaces all the time, regardless of if I have one or both of my kids (my kids are 19MO and 6MO respectively)

FoShoSTFU - I'd like to ask you what you get from posting stuff like that, but I wouldn't get a sensible reply, so I won't bother.

I have, however, reported your post on the basis that it's offensive.

Have to laugh though - your husband has a mental age of 3... Seems yours is even lower.

Oooh, I missed that, they've deleted it
AMumInScotland- ditto but mine was only six years ago. I think you can still get them.

I parked in one when it was snowing... my baby is still in my tummy. I think these things are a privilege not a right. I'm not going to be shot for doing it. And when my baby's here it'll be jolly nice if I get to use one, but really not a tragedy if I don't.

Last week I pulled into one as was feeling huge, shattered and sick and just wanted to lumber into shop, grab something and go. There was a woman following me round the car park, up my bum the whole time, and she stopped dead just as I pulled into the P&T space. She was driving a massive fuck-off 4X4, I was in my little Polo and felt quite intimidated actually. I didn't realise what the problem was at first. She just sat there right behind my car for ages, blocking me in even if I had tried to pull out, with her engine running, mouthing off at me.

And you know what I thought? Fuck off lady. I just don't care. Sometimes we all need a break.

It is just so annoying when someone who does not benefit from them uses them without a care for those who do benefit from them.

YANBU. I use them still with dcs 4 and 6 if theyre available and when dc2 was still in his britax first class seat and there were no spaces, id park in the middle of two normal spaces, otherwise I couldnt open the door enough to get him out. will still continue to use them now as have spd and its bloody painful and difficult getting out the car. yesterday i parked in a normal space(no dcs with me) and couldnt physically get out, i had to climb across the passengers side-not a good idea and was nrly in tears by the time i got out.