Parking in mother and child space

mrcow

Tina20 wrote: »

Please read all my posts before making points which have already been covered

Yes you should never leave a baby alone in the car park, which IS EXACTLY MY POINT. with a P&C space you do not have to leave the baby alone because there is space to keep them alongside your car.

Safer and easier to use a P&C space.

You don't have to leave a child alone in ANY space.

Good grief. If one small child causes you this much of a dilemma, how would you cope with a day in my life with 3 of them? It would probably be a meltdown!

Lum

HB58 wrote: »

"what would you do if all disabled spaces and all P&C spaces were full, turn round and go home? So everytime you go out it is a gamble as to wether or not you can actually get out?"

I am afraid that this is exactly how it is for many disabled people.

Yup, and if they have a spoons condition then that attempt may well be all they can manage for the day. Got to wait until tomorrow. Hope that shopping trip wasn't for food, or if it was that there is still some food left in the house.


Also, since the law has been brought up a few times in this thread, it's probably worth mentioning the Equality Act which is what applies here. Supermarkets have to make reasonable adjustments for anyone who is disabled, even those who do not hold a blue badge yet.

So if a non-BB holder uses a space and is disabled, the supermarkets would be breaking the law if they told that person to sod off and use a normal space.

Likewise, if all the disabled spaces were full and that person still needed an accessible space, it would be a reasonable adjustment to allow them to park in a P&C space, so again, they'd be breaking the law by telling the person to sod off and wait for a disabled space to become free.

No such provision exists in law for able bodied parents of able bodied children.

bigbulldog

mildred1978 wrote: »

Not really. I didn't buy a £40k car and a £350 car seat to stay home all day every day.

The above some all this up in a nutshell....you probably drive a large 4x4 chelsea tractor;) that's soo wide it will not fit in a normal parking bay.

mildred1978

bigbulldog wrote: »

The above some all this up in a nutshell....you probably drive a large 4x4 chelsea tractor;) that's soo wide it will not fit in a normal parking bay.

It's a very normal 4x4 (i live in a rural area on the side of a hill) and have no problems parking in standard spaces. It's only when getting my son out that there's any issue.

Soapn

the problem with parking and lots of other parts of life is people have got used to stuff that is provided as a COURTESY by most shops/businesses.

Get a grip, stop fighting over parking spaces and be thankful you are in a fit state to GET to the shops in the first place.

The_mangler

Riversong wrote: »

But you can, you are equally allowed to. what would you do if all disabled spaces and all P&C spaces were full, turn round and go home? So everytime you go out it is a gamble as to wether or not you can actually get out?

In a word, yes. My nearest small supermarket is 20 minutes/30 minutes drive away. They do not offer home delivery so thats an option I havent got. I cant go on my own because Im my husbands carer and he cannot manage on his own at home while I shop. We gamble once a week that a space will be available. If it isnt, we have to sit and wait until one becomes available. This is how our life is since my husband's disability. Incidentally I also have three children, I have been both sides of this argument especially as we have always needed a bigger car to fit in a wheelchair. But I have never ever taken a space that a disabled person could make better use of. I have parked across a double space at the opposite end of the car park in order for me to get the kids out safely - I didnt even make use of my husband's blue badge unless he was with me, which Im sure is a common complaint. To anyone who thinks it isnt fair that someone disabled takes precedence over a parent with children when parking is involved, please, you put yourselves in the shoes of that disabled person or carer. It really isnt all high jinks and new cars as some would have you believe.

*Rant over*

mumps

Went shopping yesterday and ended up at two supermarkets (first hadn't got something I needed.) I don't normally take much notice of the spaces but it struck me that in both car parks there were unused P & C spaces and no disabled spaces. At the first we waited as we saw someone unloading a trolley and when they moved we got a disabled space, at the second we couldn't find a disabled space and my husband stayed in the car. Don't know how it works elsewhere but round here we need more disabled spaces.

anguk

I don't understand why parents seem to need prams and buggies and changing bags when they go to the supermarket? When my kids were babies I'd lift them out of the car, carry them to the store then put them in a baby trolley, when they were a bit older I'd get them out the car, hold their hand while we walked to the store then put them in a child trolley.

I also never had the need for a changing bag, going to the supermarket isn't my idea of a great day out, I think the longest I've ever spent in one is about an hour, so I'd change baby at home before going to the supermarket. On the odd occasion they filled their nappy while shopping they were fine until we got back home, even if they did stink the car out.

Sometimes I think we make our lives more difficult than they have to be.

mildred1978

anguk wrote: »

I don't understand why parents seem to need prams and buggies and changing bags when they go to the supermarket? When my kids were babies I'd lift them out of the car, carry them to the store then put them in a baby trolley, when they were a bit older I'd get them out the car, hold their hand while we walked to the store then put them in a child trolley.

I also never had the need for a changing bag, going to the supermarket isn't my idea of a great day out, I think the longest I've ever spent in one is about an hour, so I'd change baby at home before going to the supermarket. On the odd occasion they filled their nappy while shopping they were fine until we got back home, even if they did stink the car out.

Sometimes I think we make our lives more difficult than they have to be.

I don't go to the supermarket, but I do often nip to the shops when it's my son's naptime. Hence I take his pushchair, so that he can sleep while I shop.

Not sure how I'd get him to nap in a battered old supermarket trolley.

As for his changing bag, it's also my handbag. Wouldn't get very far without it.

bigbulldog

mildred1978 wrote: »

It's a very normal 4x4 (i live in a rural area on the side of a hill) and have no problems parking in standard spaces. It's only when getting my son out that there's any issue.

We live in such a rural area we don't have any street lighting,but have never needed to use a 4x4 to get around.