Parking in mother and child space

Riversong

People with a mobility problem should either carry equipment with them to assist them with walking. Lets face it they would still have to walk round the shop etc. Or use their disability benefit to help ie pay for shopping delivery etc.(i only mention benefits as they are there for this sort of thing. to help with extra expenses such as food delivery, mobility aids etc. Wether they cover your bills is irrelevant to what i am trying to say.) Imho.

shegirl

Riversong wrote: »

People with a mobility problem should either carry equipment with them to assist them with walking. Lets face it they would still have to walk round the shop etc. Or use their disability benefit to help ie pay for shopping delivery etc.(i only mention benefits as they are there for this sort of thing. to help with extra expenses such as food delivery, mobility aids etc. Wether they cover your bills is irrelevant to what i am trying to say.) Imho.

The extra benefits are to help with things such as food delivery?They're to help the person live as normal life as possible and provide equipment or anything needed to assist with things.Why the hell should they stay home?Why can they not do what other people do?

Many people with mobility problems will have whatever they need with them,it doesn't mean they don't have problems!

Someone with a blue badge can park in a P&C space if they need to.

Personally, I wish they'd get rid of P&C spaces altogether as they are not needed.

Riversong

Not once have i said im on par with disabled people.

The p&c spaces are there for parents and children under 12. The disabled spaces are there for disabled people.

End of.

Any more insults you would like to throw at me/parents with children?

mildred1978

Lum wrote: »

I thought the term was "ableism" and yes it's just like any other -ism.

Oh and parking spaces have not gotten smaller, all that's happened is that certain models of car have gotten a lot bigger. If the combination of the car's width and the need to get a child out is causing you problems in normal spaces then yes, perhaps you did get the wrong car, maybe a Peugeot 1007 with it's sliding doors, if you really need a big car.

Taking this to it's logical conclusion, if you chose to buy a Hummer H2 to ferry yourself and your kids about in, and then find that it barely fits into a parking space should you expect any sympathy and accommodations from people? No, you'd expect people to point and laugh.

The same doesn't apply when you need the space to get a wheelchair in and out. There really is nothing you can do about the space requirements for this as the entire wheelchair needs to be able to fit alongside the car in order to do a transfer from the seat.

Yes, I'm aware of the needs of wheelchair users - I have a paraplegic uncle.

Where I live (not that far from you) disabled drivers/shoppers are extremely well catered for. I personally wouldn't dream of parking in a disabled space under any circumstances. A token number of P&C spaces are provided, and IMO aren't a disabled space overfill.

I don't go to supermarkets (ikky places). Apart from CB (goes straight into my son's savings) I don't claim any benefits. At 36 I've contributed tax at higher rate for about 15 years. And spent on average something like £20k per year on luxury items, complete with VAT.

Is it really so much to ask that now I have a small child I get to park in a space intended for parents rather than a balding middle aged man with a set of golf clubs or a tracksuited chav with a broken leg?

Tina20

I'm a mother of one baby, 6 months old.
And it is very hard to get pram out, wheel to side of car, open door wide, unplug baby, wrestle with straps round car seat, get baby out of car seat without banging childs head on roof, close car door take her to pram, plug her in safely. Then I need to get my changing bag.
What do I do with baby?
Leave her by the side of the car? Easy to do this in a P&C space as you can keep her by your side.
In a normal space? I couldn't turn my back on her with the possibility of cars driving very close to the pram. Do I push her to the shop, leave her outside while I nip back for my bag? Um no. Do I get my bag BEFORE I take her out of her car seat? And juggle a pram, bag and a baby? Yes that's safe isn't it?!
And I have ONE child! And mine can't walk! What do I do if I've got two? And one can unplug herself and go for a wander round the car? Do I make life as safe as possible and park close to store with plenty of room between kids and cars? Or do I park in a normal space and leave a possibility for my child to bolt into traffic, or get into trouble with a next-door car reversing out of the space?

A P&C space allows a parent to unload their kids safely and with least fuss to other drivers. Yes, a car park is NEVER safe no matter where you park (and of course you should be a responsible parent at all times) but surely it's best to eliminate as much risk as possible and allocate a slightly safer space?
Is it worth making the risk of child death or injury slightly higher just so childless people can walk to the shop quicker?


Kids are a vulnerable group, as are disabled people. I don't think parents have more rights than disabled people but the KIDS need protecting and if a parking space can do this, even in a small way, it's worth it.

Riversong

Well said, children have just as much right to be protected. I have two babies and its hard juggling my youngest on my knee while wrangling my toddler out of his seat. Or holding onto my toddlers hand while trying to get my baby out of the car. only one of my babies can walk.

mumps

Tina20 wrote: »

I'm a mother of one baby, 6 months old.
And it is very hard to get pram out, wheel to side of car, open door wide, unplug baby, wrestle with straps round car seat, get baby out of car seat without banging childs head on roof, close car door take her to pram, plug her in safely. Then I need to get my changing bag.
What do I do with baby?
Leave her by the side of the car? Easy to do this in a P&C space as you can keep her by your side.
In a normal space? I couldn't turn my back on her with the possibility of cars driving very close to the pram. Do I push her to the shop, leave her outside while I nip back for my bag? Um no. Do I get my bag BEFORE I take her out of her car seat? And juggle a pram, bag and a baby? Yes that's safe isn't it?!
And I have ONE child! And mine can't walk! What do I do if I've got two? And one can unplug herself and go for a wander round the car? Do I make life as safe as possible and park close to store with plenty of room between kids and cars? Or do I park in a normal space and leave a possibility for my child to bolt into traffic, or get into trouble with a next-door car reversing out of the space?

A P&C space allows a parent to unload their kids safely and with least fuss to other drivers. Yes, a car park is NEVER safe no matter where you park (and of course you should be a responsible parent at all times) but surely it's best to eliminate as much risk as possible and allocate a slightly safer space?
Is it worth making the risk of child death or injury slightly higher just so childless people can walk to the shop quicker?


Kids are a vulnerable group, as are disabled people. I don't think parents have more rights than disabled people but the KIDS need protecting and if a parking space can do this, even in a small way, it's worth it.

As a mother of four can I just say it does get easier. Everything is so complicated at first but it is like anything else, the more you do it the easier it gets.

One tip is go to the far side of the car park, apart from Christmas eve you will usually find lots of space and can sort yourself out quite easily. When you have more/older children you get them sorted and then walk across to the shop. If I am out with the grandchildren I usually forget about parent and child spaces and never have a problem with this tactic, and I wouldn't even dream of taking them on Christmas Eve.

As well as mother to four I am wife to one, and he walks with great difficulty and lots of pain. He doesn't come shopping with me that often due to pain but sometimes is stir crazy so will come along. It is so annoying when we can't park near to the shop, it isnt just the problems of getting out of the car, which he finds hard, but the walk is difficult. Sometimes by the time he gets into the shop he has had enough and I have to sit him in the cafeteria with a cuppa while he waits for me. It isn't really alot to ask in life is it, just to be able to go shopping with your wife. At my local supermarket the parent and child spaces are closer to the entrance than the disabled spaces and there are more of them. I just don't understand that.

mumps

Riversong wrote: »

People with a mobility problem should either carry equipment with them to assist them with walking. Lets face it they would still have to walk round the shop etc. Or use their disability benefit to help ie pay for shopping delivery etc.(i only mention benefits as they are there for this sort of thing. to help with extra expenses such as food delivery, mobility aids etc. Wether they cover your bills is irrelevant to what i am trying to say.) Imho.

There isn't any equipment that stops my husbands pain so nothing he can carry with him. He does have a right to go out even if his shopping can be delivered (by me.) It can be very depressing to stay inside all the time. Maybe parents should use their CB to pay for their shopping to be delivered or to pay for equipment to help them?

Tina20

mumps wrote: »

At my local supermarket the parent and child spaces are closer to the entrance than the disabled spaces and there are more of them. I just don't understand that.

In my local supermarket, it's the opposite. There are only 3 P&C spaces but over 10 disabled spaces. I think it must vary depending on who designed the car park

mumps

Tina20 wrote: »

In my local supermarket, it's the opposite. There are only 3 P&C spaces but over 10 disabled spaces. I think it must vary depending on who designed the car park

I think I go to a supermarket with a bigger car park. Probably 30 to 40 P & C spaces and maybe 20 disabled. Maybe they think more families go to the bigger supermarkets? I can't think of a reason why they place the P & C spaces closer to the entrance.