Using parent and child spaces when heavily pregnant

FatVonD

Very short sighted on the part of the supermarket employee considering how much money the OP's friend will probably be handing over for baby stuff if they keep her business.

dizziblonde

fluffnutter wrote: »

Not everywhere. I think dizziblonde said the bays in her local Asda were normal size. Which begs the question... what's the point of them (or some of them)?

Personally I think it's more about enticing women (who are supermarkets' main demographic and often have small children in tow) into the store. There's no real need for them.

Yep normal size and no specific "child" trolleys stored near them either - they don't do the ones you can clip carseats onto, and the ones with the baby lie-back bit are just kept at the store front anyway. These literally only serve the "nearest to the door" function... and on a semi-related note - it bugs the hell outta me when the P+C spaces are nearer to the door than the disabled ones!

tiamai_d

Most of the P&C spaces here do actually say 'Parent, Child and Expectant Mothers' or Mothers-to-be, with a picture of a stick adult, stick child holding hands (while trying to run off ha!) and a stick momma with big old baby bump.

It's cool, we now use the disabled bays and have all the old fodgers staring at my sons blue badge - coz kids don't have disabilities and he knows we're scroungers and whatever.

Lovely place this world eh? Everybody has an opinion and the assumed right to shout it in your face.

MrsBryan_2

Its weird I havent noticed this thread before and me and OH had the same conversation today while in Asda!

I'm 38 weeks pregnant.

I was driving and it was quite busy in the car park, I drove past the P&C spaces round to the other side, and OH said "Why don't you park in one of those P&C spaces?" I replied that it was for parents and children not pregnant women! He said, "That's bollo*ks, you're heavily pregnant and are having trouble walking you should be able to park there."

I looked around and there were plenty of spaces not too far away so just parked in one of those. Hadn't even crossed my mind to park in a P&C space.
Maybe if there were no spaces close and I was feeling knackered I might park there but still, just hadnt thought about it.

As we were walking into the store, a woman started to load her shopping into her car parked in a P&C space and she didn't have any children with her!

Sambucus_Nigra

snowyz81 wrote: »

I came out to a note on my windscreen from the car park people(not asda) advising me that i was parked in a m&b space and they could not see any evidence of a child in my car and advising me i should not be parked there.

Presumably, they don't want you to leave the child IN the car whilst you shop! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sambucus_Nigra

fluffnutter wrote: »

Not everywhere. I think dizziblonde said the bays in her local Asda were normal size. Which begs the question... what's the point of them (or some of them)?

Personally I think it's more about enticing women (who are supermarkets' main demographic and often have small children in tow) into the store. There's no real need for them.

Exactly - no real need and no actual laws around using them.

If a supermarket made ALL it's spaces larger, you'd still get kn0bheads...parking right up close when there were loads of other spaces available with space on both sides...

geoffky

Park where you want for as long as you want but not the disabled bays out of courtesy as there is no law to stop you and if you get a ticket just bin it as it is not worth the paper it is written on...

codemonkey

Can I ask a question about these parent and child spaces that has always bugged me. Is there some forcefield around them that makes using your mirrors /looking behind you impossible? The number of times I've almost been hit or seen someone else having to dash out of the way because someone has just reversed out without bothering to check that the way is clear and it seems to happen most often with the p&c spaces.

Actually, I pass a school on my commute to work and I'm actually starting to wonder if being a parent means that you lose your ability to drive because it is actually like Wacky Races, made especially dangerous by the parents who walk three abreast with their pushchairs and refuse to allow anyone to pass and the gaggle of parents talking right outside of the school gates/on the corner who refuse to move to allow anyone through, meaning sometimes it is necessary to step out onto the road.

fluffnutter

codemonkey wrote: »

Can I ask a question about these parent and child spaces that has always bugged me. Is there some forcefield around them that makes using your mirrors /looking behind you impossible? The number of times I've almost been hit or seen someone else having to dash out of the way because someone has just reversed out without bothering to check that the way is clear and it seems to happen most often with the p&c spaces.

Actually, I pass a school on my commute to work and I'm actually starting to wonder if being a parent means that you lose your ability to drive because it is actually like Wacky Races, made especially dangerous by the parents who walk three abreast with their pushchairs and refuse to allow anyone to pass and the gaggle of parents talking right outside of the school gates/on the corner who refuse to move to allow anyone through, meaning sometimes it is necessary to step out onto the road.

It's the rise of the Muffia isn't it? Basically since the 60s when contraception became freely available, having children has become a choice. Once something becomes a choice it comes with a whole load of justifications. Before contraception was available, there was nothing special about having children because that's just what women did. Nowadays, women can choose not to. They can concentrate on other things like a career, or simply remain childfree.

Don't get me wrong - feminism is my favourite invention, but I've often thought that the ability to choose whether to have children or not, albeit a positive thing, gives rise in Western societies to the 'Career Mother'. Essentially someone who feels they've sacrificed other elements of their life to become a mother. This gives rise to two things, one more positive than the other... 1. The idea that if they've chosen to do it they're going to do it well (great) and also 2. They should have respect and acknowledgement for doing so (not so great). This latter feeling can also be tinged with resentment, particularly from women who've been used to having a fair amount of power in the workplace.

Hence you have a certain type of woman who's constantly aware of what she's given up to have children and she's damned sure you're going to know about it. If that means she wants special treatment, then you better jump to it. That means she gets to drive the way she likes, she gets to stand in your way whilst outside the school, she gets to ram her pushchair into the back of your ankles whilst you're doing your weekly shop. After all, look what she's given up! Respect her! She's a mother!

misswig

When u was heavily pregnant with DS2, I quite often had to repark the car further away from the shop where there were more parking spaces as I physically could not get out of the car and squeeze between two cars:D I then started using the p&c spaces when there were any. Got some funny looks though on occasion