Baby/Parent Parking..your thoughts?

Lise - posted on 01/05/2010

I would LOVE that!

Charlotte - posted on 01/05/2010

I love the Parent and Child Spaces! I hate it when I've just seen the last 1 being taken by someone that either doesn't even have a child with them, gets out the car with a child/children aged 9 or older or is just sat there waiting, with no sign of a child having been in the car.

Cos it means that then I have to find a TINY space the other end of the car park and walk ALL the way back to the shop with my 7 month old daughter. It annoys me even more in the bad weather.

Mikayla - posted on 01/05/2010

when there was no spaces left at asda today, my partner told someone to move out the space, as he was only waiting for some one to come out the shop, he had no kids! i was a bit embarrased but it got us a space!

Jane - posted on 12/22/2009

Ugh just got back from shopping in my local shopping centre and as you would expect, the car park was full due to last minute Chrissy shopping...Sooo anyhoo..I had my lil 8 month boy with me and had to park a million miles away as this was the only spot I could find..on passing the "Parents With Pram" spot I notice a childless couple of around 40 years old walking back to their car...suffice to say I wasn't happy and when I queried them about it, they just shrugged, got in and drove away!! OMG...breathe..1, 2 3 , haha

Nicole - posted on 12/22/2009

I haven't used one yet. Here they are called "expecting and new parent courtesy parking". There aren't nearly enough of them and they are always full with cars that obviously have no kids in them. So sad. I sometimes just leave a shopping mall because the thought of lugging my son and his car seat all the way accross the lot is too much to consider. I leave the stroller (pram) behind so that I can use a shopping cart which carries more and here carseats are compatible with shopping carts so we end up pushing one thing. Anyway... long and short is it should be enforced and there should be more of them, in my opinion.

Nikki - posted on 12/21/2009

i hate it when rude people without kids use them, i actually threw a tantrum at a childless lady who parked in one at our local plaza as i had to park miles away with a 6 week old. There were people everywhere, she went bright red and moved the car!

Jaime - posted on 12/21/2009

I think they are great, and convenient here when you can find one (we live in snowy Wyoming) It helps me get the babies inside to the warmth sooner. But I have noticed cars without car seats period, and I even noticed a very fat man parking in one once! I figure if they are that lazy to "steal" a spot that they obliously don't qualify for, then they must be justifying it in their minds for some reason. (fat, lazy, in a hurry, whatever) Either way, it won't kill us to walk.



And I noticed a parking spot for "Fuel efficient" cars i.e. compact cars right outside of best buy earlier, in a spot that was HUGE!!! I thought that was weird!



But seriously I think that they should have spots for the elderly before they have spots for parents!!! My grandmas have a harder time getting themselves to the door safely than I do carrying a car seat, and tugging a toddler inside the store! And I think that it should be enforced!!! Although I don't know how they would do it!!!

Iysha - posted on 12/21/2009

I don't know of any store that has that where I live...except for Babies R Us but, that is only for pregnant mothers. I know it would be great for closer parking at the grocery stores, like if most of the people shopping didn't have kids.... but I see many, many, many mothers with babies at the grocery store.



It was raining the other day and my fiance and I went to the grocery store. Well, it wasn't raining when we left the house, just when we left the grocery store...and we parked way the hell out there and had 2 carts of groceries and my 5 month old. I had him go get the car and park it right in front of the entrance. I got my daughter situated while he put the groceries in. He was parked in a red zone and people were staring, I know I hate it when people park in the red when they're not supposed to...but It was pouring and the whole side walk along the store was a red zone...a fire truck could have easily found a space =]



I could have really used one of those parents with small children parking spaces then. Even when I do find a good place to park, someone parks 2 inches from my car so I cant get my baby in... I really wish people would be more considerate....

Jane - posted on 12/21/2009

Depending on what shops you go to here in Australia, the wording can change - like my local is "Parents with Prams", yet shops down the road its "Baby Parking". I think these spots are really designed for those with young children, and more specifically prams, but when people blatantly park there that have neither...whooaaa nelly !! That is the worst!! There is no excuse for arrogance, as these spots are very clearly marked, and these people just chose to flout the rules!! UGH !!

Sammy - posted on 12/21/2009

Before I had my daughter I got in an arguement with a lady that parked in a "parents with prams" parking spot, she was so rude and her excuse was that everyone does it! I even hate it if I see someone park there if they have a child and are not
using a pram! If I am going into the shops without my pram and I am going to carry my daughter then I don't park there...it is PARKING WITH PRAMS!! Not
parking with children!! They should change the wording on the sign, as it is dangerious walking through the car park with children! Oh and there should be more than 5 or 10
spaces!!

Georgina - posted on 12/21/2009

evening jane,

what can i say.. it's so frustrating, like you say when they dont have a baby or pram with them. there's never enough spaces either! Allocated spaces should have an age restriction on them, as a deterrant!! having said that, some people are just plain rude & would park there regardless.. Ok i'll stop ranting on now! sorry everyone lol

Ashley - posted on 12/19/2009

i dont park in them...the way i see it is if you are going to be walking around a mall with ur kids well then u can walk the 2 mins from the parking lot to the store..didnt use them while i was pregnant either.....walking when u are pregnant is good for you and once again if you are walking around a mall i think you are quite capable of walking 2 mins from the parking lot to the doors......

Nicole - posted on 12/19/2009

that would be great for wisconsin! its so dang cold in the winter and i struggle carrying a carseat across the way. i want it

Sarah - posted on 12/19/2009

theres actually a group on facebook about this.

anyway it really annoys me when you can clearly see non-parents parking in places that are actually designated for them.

however as a lot of people pointed out these places aren't legally enforced so theres not really much we can do ..

on that group a lot of people pointed out that disabeld spots are legally enforced and they CAN park in p&c spots if there is no free disabeld places .. as they may have to have spots close to shoopping places in order to get to their cars quickly .. say for medication, wheelchair purposes.



however it is entirely unfair when neither disabeld or a parent has been able to park in this spot .. (e.g tradesmen) .. that really winds me up.

we have a 10 month old in a forward facing seat and its difficult trying take him out of his car seat and sit him in his trolley. more so when its busy.

im english btw.

Mikayla - posted on 12/19/2009

we have that alot in england, i always find that theres never enough spaces anyway, even in places like mothercare where youd expect there to be alot of familys go only have 5 spaces out of 50 that are parent spaces, we do have some stores that have parking attendants that check who parks there which is good, can moslty find spaces in those car parks!

Jolene - posted on 12/17/2009

I'm also in America and we don't have those parking spots where I live. I've never seen them anywhere. But I think they would be really nice to have. I am very annoyed by people who park in handycapped spots and clearly don't need to. I also get very annoyed by all the people who just park right outside the doors of the store as they run in for something. Park in the parking lot like the rest of us, what make you so special. Ughhh hate that!!!

Kristina - posted on 12/17/2009

well, i dont get the expecting parking spots, because you should be walking while your pregnant. However when u have a newborn and are lugging around him, a carseat, and a diaper bag, and a grocery cart, thats a whole different story!

Vixi - posted on 12/17/2009

I am disabled and a mum so imagine how hard it is 4 me?! I think there should be penalties for drivers who use these bays when they clearly dont need them!!

Elizabeth - posted on 12/17/2009

I wouldn't call having kids a "handicap". Does help with a newborn though. After that it's really not necessary. My 2 cents.

Amy - posted on 12/16/2009

I never realized how many people wrongly park in those spots til I got pregnant. Those spots should be for a)moms with sick kids b) moms with kids that cannot walk yet and c) obviiously pregnant women. I am due next month and too big to chase down people who abuse these spots and I feel screaming obscenities across the parking lot may not help the cause, then again, maybe it would......

Genevieve - posted on 12/16/2009

Here in South Africa, the shopping malls have about 4-5 parking spaces for moms and tots, yet the shopping malls accommodate tens of thousands of people at a time! Sadly, many times when I've needed to use these helpful parking spots, selfish people who either have older children or no children at all have used these spots, or like today, one car took up two parking spots by parking bang in the middle of the two! You can clearly tell by my car that I'm a mom (I have the baby on board sticker on my back window, glare protectors in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy hanging from my back window) so when I park in one of those spots, you know I'm genuine! They're handy, but I think that they should be monitored so that they're not abused, and it would be helpful to have more available.

Jane - posted on 12/16/2009

Agreed Renae. I try to tell the inconsiderate people when they park there, that it's not just that the car bays are close to the shops, they are actually wider, which us mums need, when we were are trying to pull our bubs out from their car seats etc!! Until it becomes law, people will just continue to do what they want anyway, although I do try to educate them ( as nicely as I can which is hard sometimes ) !!

Renae - posted on 12/16/2009

I can't stand that! Several times I have seen young men with absolutely no baby in the car has take the spot. I have done some venue management (including a shopping centre) and there is nothing anyone can do about it legally, they cant be fined or anything. The pram and seniors parking just relies on common courtesty. The only one that is enforcealbe is disabled parking. But you would think people would have some common courtesy, i dont go round parking in seniors bays.

Emily - posted on 12/15/2009

oh gosh yes! they frustrate me even more as well;

Brandi - posted on 12/15/2009

I'm from America and we only recently began to delegate parking spaces for pregnant women (which aren't everywhere and there really aren't any in my area, as I live in a small town), so I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if parking spaces like that even existed here (I have 2 kids and anyone who's ever tried to manipulate 2 kids safely from the far end of the parking lot to the door of a store knows what a pain that can be). Anyway, if we had those types of places here, I would probably get upset if someone who didn't have kids was trying to park there, but in actuality, it's not like mothers with children are handicapped and NEED a close space, it just would be more convenient. It's the perfectly healthy a-holes who park in the handicapped spaces that irritate me.

Emily - posted on 12/15/2009

they need more. i agree with the fact there are more mums with bubs than disabled people, and yet they have more then triple the amount of spots? i have also cuaght them parking in mums spots before when there are perfect;ly good disabled spots available. i like to leave them a nice "friendly" note on their windscreen. Even if i walk past a car in the spots and you can see there is no car seat or signs that a child has ever or would ever be in the car, i leave them a note. its so frustrating!!!! gah.

Tanya - posted on 12/15/2009

I think it's nice for them to make parking like that. I would never use it though. My Expedition is too big. I can fit in the parking spot but my car is so big people will open their doors and hit it so I don't want to chance it. I always park far away, I don't mind walking.

Lianne - posted on 12/15/2009

urghhhhhh!! i hate people that park in the spaces without kids!!!
how rude and inconsiderate!
well i get out the car and bloody go and tell them!!

Amanda - posted on 12/15/2009

I love those parking spaces, I have a 7 month old baby and a very pregnant 17 year old sister. I do get angry when people without kids park there but I also realize that once I take the carseat out of the truck, it looks like I don't have kids either. I think that we need way more of the parents with kids spaces. In Alberta, they've been putting in hybrid parking in front of stores and malls instead of parent parking, that's aggravating.

Leena - posted on 12/15/2009

I think that in theory it sounds like a good idea, but there isn't really any way to enforce it. Plus who decides whose reason to park there is more important. I have 4 daughters; ages 7, 4, 4, and 2. When I go shopping I may think that I deserve to park close because I have 4 kids, but a mom with one infant might think that my 4 kids can walk so she should get the closer spot.

Brandy - posted on 12/15/2009

Once my daughter was big enough that she was in a toddler car seat and rode in the shopping cart (I think she was 7 months when we switched to a rear facing toddler seat), I stopped using the parent parking spots because I felt bad if I just had to take out my daughter and carry her on my hip into the store then when we come out with our bags, we have a cart anyways so I thought I might as well leave it for the people with babies younger than her who still need to carry in a baby in a carseat and giant diaper bag. I've started using them again recently because my daughter is 19 months now and I am 36 weeks pregnant living in Northern Canada. It's cold and icy and I'm pregnant and carrying a toddler (the baby has dropped so it's harder for me to bend to hold her hand than it is to carry her) so I just want to get off the ice and into the warmth as quiclky as possible. But I once went to a store and had to park very far away when my daughter was only about 2 months old. We were having a really rough day already, she was gassy and up all the night before and I was going to find something to relieve her and when I got closer to the door, a man came out, probably in his early 30's, by himself, perfectly capable and went to the truck parked in the parent parking spot. As I walked past, I said "you know that's for people like me not people like you". He looked pretty embarrassed and lowered his head and got in his truck and left. Probably felt bad that me and my screaming baby had to walk all the way from the back of the parking lot.

Renee - posted on 12/15/2009

I had to park far away in the back of the carpark the other day in pouring rain with my 3week old baby girl because all the parent spots were filled and i doubt half of them even have children.

Denise - posted on 12/15/2009

If you get a little car park, and you see them do it one day, wait for them to go inside the shop park behind them then do your shopping, i done this one day where i was having a particular bad day with my ill little boy went to the shops to get some medicene and there was one space left in this 20 space shop car park which was a mother & baby one. A middle aged woman on her own drove into the space, so i decided to park behind her, little childish i know but the sign clearly stated ''the shop was not responsible for any actions in the car park'' and i felt much better when i went back to my car 25mins later after having to queing up and she was one unhappy bunny.

Jane - posted on 12/15/2009

I know...I wish it were enforced too. I asked a Shopping Centre manager here one time, and he told me that it's not the "law" and really only a "courtesy" bay!! Needless to say, some people don't know what that word means - or they do and just chose to continue on being ignorant/arrogant...

Emma - posted on 12/15/2009

I love them, especially in the winter. I was pulling into Walmart the other day and went to the place where they had the parent parking, a lady had just pulled in...then the woman *with two small kids* starting telling her to move her vehicle because she didn't have any kids. Her response was, my kids are at home so I can still park here. Needless to say, she finally moved her car and I pulled in. Thanked the other lady, who by the way, didn't go into Walmart till she was sure that I had a child with me lol



But people are ignorant, and think they can park there anyways. I wish it was inforced.

Kelsey - posted on 12/15/2009

I LOVE those! I think it is only fair to give mothers or fathers with small children a right to park closer to the mall or whereever. Its so much harder than people realize having small children and going places. In a way we are also somewhat hadicapped! ;) I am discused by how rude and selfish people are when they park in a hadicapped or "pram" parking space! I never have and never would do that! My mom tought me manners! It reminds me of when I was about 9 mos pregnant and in the gas station. I was holding a 12 pack of soda and a few other things along with my huge purse, and obviously uncomfortable. No only did noone ever offer me to go ahead like a good lady or gentleman, but an older lady actually completely cut me off in line when I was standing there! Can you believe it! I noticed this throughout my entire pregnancy and was in utter shock at how uncurtious people are! Noone ever offered to help me with anything! I just dont understand how people can be so selfish! I make it a point now to be extra thoughtful of hadicapped people, elderly people, pregnant people, and fellow mothers now!

Jane - posted on 12/15/2009

I know it's hard, especially as its not actually enforcable here like it is with disabled parking!! I had a woman the other day park there ( with no kids etc ), and when I asked her why she was parking there she said "oh well the tradesman do it", and then walked off...I was gobsmacked..nice attitude lady!! sheesh !!

Misty - posted on 12/15/2009

Same here it is horrible or you see someone with a 10 year old while I am still sluggin my 2 month old in her car seat it is terrible there should be more spots there are more new moms than handicapped people and they have more spots ;)