Charging for parent & child parking

pollyanna24 · 4 July 2012 at 2:05PM

ash28 wrote: »

Child car safety seats have been around well over 40 years.

My kids are 30, 31 and 32 and we had 3 car seats in our 2 door Escort Estate when they were very young.

By the time I had my children car seats were readily available.

But there weren't as many cars and hardly anyone had 2 cars,

Blimey! Bet they were hard work when they were little. Mine are 3 and 1 and I find them hard enough with just two and a slighter bigger age gap between them.

Imp · 4 July 2012 at 3:46PM

Spamfree wrote: »

What year was it that car parking spaces started to shrink?

I hadn't noticed they had got any smaller, but then I drive Clio, not a people carrier/SUV.

Noggin_1 · 4 July 2012 at 4:39PM

When I had my baby, I was in Tesco Baby & Toddler Club which I joined online. Apart from receiving regular money-off vouches they sent me some kind of 'permit' thingy which I put in my car above the tax disc. I filled it out with my car reg plate and date of my baby's 3rd birthday on it as requested. I don't really know the purpose of it, I don't think it has any 'special powers' which are enforceable.

Has anyone else had one of these?

I'm grateful for the spaces some car parks provide and as a new parent I really appreciate them, but I'm happy to park in a normal space too. I don't mind as long as I can get baby in and out. My local store has the P&C spaces running parallel with the disabled spaces making them equal to the entrance.

We have an older Tesco nearby and the normal spaces do seem to be a bit wider than the new, larger store.

embob74 · 4 July 2012 at 5:46PM

Frugalista wrote: »

Obviously you don't if you are merely "hoping" your toddler doesn't run into the road :eek:.

That's classy - more judgments on my parenting skills because I explained the dilemma I have if there is no P&C space.
For your information my toddler is extremely well behaved so I am fairly sure this will never happen but I would not be a decent parent if I did not foresee potential danger.
And I'm saying nothing about your parenting skills because of the way you don't seem to see any danger with toddlers near roads.

embob74 · 4 July 2012 at 5:51PM

Frugalista wrote: »

But she's not popping them straight in a trolley - she's already said that she has to "struggle" with them to get to a trolley

Err yeah....I struggle.....my apologies for finding it difficult to carry my baby for too long due to a medical condition I have. Next time you go shopping look where the P&C spaces are and where the trollies suitable for a baby and a toddler are - they're always a good distance from each other.
To go back to the original post - I think they absolutely should charge extra for the spaces. If they make it a high enough charge maybe I'll stop parking in them .

Ha ha - so as a parent I shouldn't expect a larger space to make it easier to get in and out and ensure nearby cars are not damaged in any way but you should expect to park in one?!

thatgirlsam · 4 July 2012 at 5:55PM

embob74 wrote: »

Please feel free to take my kids shopping with you for the day. Find a space that hasn't been parked in by somebody who has no need of extra space. Then decide whether to struggle with a baby and a young toddler to where the suitable trollies are (usually a long way away from where the normal trollies are). Then hold onto the toddlers hand while putting a wriggling baby into the trolley and fastening it with one hand.
Or you could leave two kids in the car and hope nobody steals the car while you leave them for 5 minutes to get a suitable trolley.

And when I have accidentally scratched your car as I have to access both sides of my car to get the kids in I'm sure you will find claiming on my insurance totally unnecessary?!

How would having extra space to get them out the car actually help with the trolley problem? Presumably you would still have to go and get a trolley regardless!

If it were me I would peg it to get a trolly (no way would that take 5 mins!), then put the baby in first, then deal with the toddler

Or.. put the toddler in the trolley. Not in the seat, in the actual trolley.

I know... I'm a bad Mum

embob74 · 4 July 2012 at 5:58PM

Padstow wrote: »

Shop at Waitrose, their kid spaces are always empty, even on Saturdays, and they now match Tesco prices.
Some people make parenting sound like a real chore.

The Waitrose near us has an underground car park with the smallest spaces ever! Their prices may be similar to bigger supermarkets but they just don't have the same choice.
I do like shopping there though - I feel so decadent :rotfl:

suited-aces · 5 July 2012 at 10:41PM

Have I got this all wrong when reading it late last night, or did lotus eater make a comment on one page, then a few pages later tried to act as though another post had actually aimed that comment at her?