Parent and Baby Parking Spaces

[Zak33]

The disabled bays as well, I dont think you see truly disabled people getting the stickers, my mate has a knackered spine and is in pain every single second and he doesnt get one. When I go shopping I see people fully capable of walking round the shops for 40 minutes, why cant they walk 2mins across a car park? Dont get me wrong here, I agree with disabled spaces but I am sure the criteria for getting an orange card is a bit sqiffy tbh.

Anyway, pointless rant over

not pointless blokey...not at all. You understand it as well as any.
Orange Badges are given to all sorts,(sometimes weakened heart situtations, invisible to the naked eye) and it doesnt always makes sense. Spinal is hard to prove...my Mum is the same. But even if she had an Orange badge, she'd never use it. Too damn proud.

No...I mean Wheel chairs. It takes an AGE to get in an out, to get the chair out of the roof box, or from behind the seat, all arm power, it can take a disabled person 20 minutes to get out and ready to move to the shop. and another 20 to get back in. Iknow..I;ve helped them. Imagine you need to plan your entire DAY...your entire WEEK around simply getting milk and bread.

and after the "shopping trip" you need 2 days to recover

So its those people who NEED...to be near the shop, with space.

I implore you all to NEVER use Disabled spaces...anywhere...ever. Even if you just need to pop in. Imagine that 5 mnutes behind you is a PAIR of disabled people...both in chairs....in the same car...having psyched themselves up for an entire day to do what you and I can do with a seconds thought. Even if you need that milk...or you HAVE to get the beer in for your party..and you're late.

But Parent and Child spaces...I'll leave that to your concience

[Rob]

G4Z has made the point that a lot miss. And the reason people get wound up.

They are Mother and BABY spaces. Not mother and child. And if used as such, I have no problem. Watching a poor mum struggle with pram and trolley, and trying to get baby from one to t'other, I agree with the spaces.

BUT

They are not for mother and 3 seven year old kids who are too fat and idle to waddle the width of the car park. This is when it pee's me off. Same with people with disabled badges that can actually walk faster than me Yes, some people should have the badge as they can only walk short distances. But not just because grannies a little deaf, and I pick her up occasionally.

[Zak33]

oooh....even BETTER stuff. ALL right as well...all of it

[shiato storm]

The cold and wet aint gonna harm them...not letting your kid get dirty, not letting them do "dangerous" things like climb trees that turns kids into fairies (and I dont mean in the gay sense)

well, we all know they end up that way...

[Nick]

Right. lets see....

Again, I'll go point by point...

Zak, yep, not a problem, use a parent and child space. Like you say, its a privilege. And I'm glad we all agree on people parking in disabled spots with no obvious disabilities just isn't on.

Now, about your car. What? What about my car? I park in a public car park everyday and its knocked to hell and back by people winging their doors open into it. But I have better solution. This a democracy in this country, so the general rule is that the majority's wishes hold precedence... so those without kids, who are the minority group for shopping in supermarkets, you go over in the far corner, where we parents with our trolleys, prams and pushchairs have no intention or need to go. Its only fair as you wont have to negotiate a pushcair and trolley over three kerbs, four wonky mahole covers and a badly filled in pothole. You non-kidded up peeps are much more nimble than those of us wiehged down with children...

As to equal treatment, well no, you don't get it and you won't get it. Why? Cos you're not the main source of revenue for any supermarket. You might blow £100 a week on food, but the average family does about 50% more than you AND then spends more on booze and non-food items too with an average shop for a store in your area being around the £220 mark. Remember, these parents will spend MORE than you becuase they have more mouths to feed PLUS they don't go out or eat out as much as you, so they buy more in to compensate.

Yep, kids AREN't a status symbol, but they ARE a massive cash cow in the retail sector. Parents will buy whatever they think best for their kids ( and I DON'T mean spoil them, cos I sure as hell don't, although people do spoil them). Supermarkets recognised long ago the way to a mans wallet was through his kids and so have made shopping for parents as easy a way as possible to separate them from their money. If they don't have spaces reserved for parents, someone else will and bang goes your core shooper, straight off to the competition. That may be fine for you cos you can get a space near the door, but the store, although it likes your money as much as anyone elses, you just aren't worth as much and are far more expensive to sell to so there's less margin in you.

Rob, no, there ARE 'mother and baby', but most 'up with it' shops have changed them to 'Parent and Child', to persuade shoppers to keep using the spaces and therefor keep spending at that store.

You're right that a fat troupe of seven years olds shouldn't use the space, but since the politically correct brigade got the wording changed from M+B to P+C, who's to say where a kid stops being a 'child'?

Anymore?

[daniel_owen_uk]

OK.....this is gonna cause a bit of a flame war...but WHY DO PARENTS NEED PARKING SPACES NEAR THE FRIKKIN SHOP?????

I hate it...it winds me up a treat.

Worse still, WHY oh WHY are there more of them than Disabled Spaces?

Sorry to state the obvious but there are more child a parent parking spaces than disabled parking spaces because there are more parents with children than there are disabled people.

[RVF500]

I agree with G4Z (for once ) kids get under your feet. Mine get under my feet and 2 of those are teenagers. Parents should realise that their little darling is an unthinking random mobile hazard in public and needs to be sheparded much like a puppy. Not give other people dirty looks for not having eyes in the cheeks of their a*se to look out for what is the parents responsibility. That's the problem, so much responsibility has been allowed to slip from parents many think all they need to do is feed and clothe them and everyone else will do the rest for them.

My typical response to the situation G4Z had after standing on someone elses offspring is tell them to look after their damn child. My response to my child who has put himself in a position to be stood on is to remind him that's what happens when he doesn't pay attention and wander off. It's a nightmare watching over small children so I have sympathy in both directions but the overall responsibility is with the parent. Children can't just be boxed up and let out at convenient times. They have to accompany you shops etc.

Of course, if people had stopped having kids then none of us would be here. Bet you guys are all glad your parents made that choice. Though I have to honest and say I'm not glad some people's parents made that choice

[Big RICHARD]

OK, I haven't read the whole thread, but will input this:

Why do disabled people get preferential treatment? I mean, the Disability Discrimination Act came into force on 1/10/04 and makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled people in any way for being disabled. Or does this not include positive discrimination?

[Howard]

I agree entirely with this "kids should not be the centre of the universe" business. Everytime something happens involving a child it's ALWAYS the adult's fault. No way is it because the parent lost control of their child

As Zak said, you choose to have children and accept the consequences. It doesn't make you above everyone else. I'm sorry if this offends those members with children, but it's the way I and many others feel

Disabled people have a right to special parking. An 80 year old woman in her little old Vauxhall Nova is going to need a bit of space to get out with her walking stick. A parent/parents with a child over the age of about 5, doesn't.

Supermarket parking... Hmm.. I work in a supermarket so I get to witness all sorts of parking stupidity including many people who just drive in at an angle, leave the car parked at a hideous angle and think it's OK.
I for one always ensure I'm at a decent angle... If I'm not I feel downright stupid leaving a car in such a state! So I fix it!

This thread has been a very interesting Sunday morning (stupid DST, woke up at 8:45... But NOOOO it's 7:45 isn't it ) read, and as always, shows an above average level of Hexus intelligence

[Knoxville]

OK, I haven't read the whole thread, but will input this:

Why do disabled people get preferential treatment? I mean, the Disability Discrimination Act came into force on 1/10/04 and makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled people in any way for being disabled. Or does this not include positive discrimination?

So you'd happily make the person who can't walk under they're own power wheel they're chair all the way across the wet car park dodging traffic as they do so to avoid "positive discrimination"?

There's a difference between positive discrimination and helping those that need it e.g i'm far more likely to hold a door open for a person if their carrying 2 cups of coffee and an armful of papers than I am for someone with their hands free, not because i'm discriminating but because they genuinly could use a hand.

One of the people in the home I work at has an orange disabled sticker because she has to be taken out shopping in a wheel chair, you ever tried setting one up in the 18 inches of space between the car and the gran cherokee some woman has parked terribly in the space next to you?

On the subject of parent child spaces I really don't see the point to them, they were never around when i was small enough to be classed as a child and i didn;t grow up with thousands of traumatic car park memories. The need for extra space for most people (excluding those that have to set-up and juggle puschairs as they do need more room) comes down to a disability to control their children in any meaningful way.

Back in the day when i was on trollies at JS i'd see the mother pull up in the space and seconds later the kids door would fly open banging into the other car and he would get out and start running round the car/to get a trolly/to ride on postman pats van outside the video rental store, now if that parent could control the child properly be it with a quick slap round the back of the head or with a stern word saying that if you do run in the road you're likely to end up looking like last nights pizza, unfortunatly many parents do neither and some of this lack of discipline at an early age is starting to show in the slightly older kids of today and they're chav like ways (btw I direct none of this at the chaps on this board with children i'm simply saying what i've observed in many cases)

[Knoxville]

An 80 year old woman in her little old Vauxhall Nova is going to need a bit of space to get out with her walking stick.

I disagree with people like that being able to park in disabled spaces, if i've banged my knee and am walking with a limp it doesn't entitle me to park in a disabled space now does it? No, I'd drive around a bit and find an end space where i can tuck the car into one side more than i could if another car was there thus allowing a bit more room to open the door.

[Richie]

There's a difference between positive discrimination and helping those that need it e.g i'm far more likely to hold a door open for a person if their carrying 2 cups of coffee and an armful of papers than I am for someone with their hands free, not because i'm discriminating but because they genuinly could use a hand.

No offence, but why ??

The mannerly thing to do would be to hold the door open regardless or do you mean walk ahead of them when a door is near to get it as opposed to being ahead of them and holding it open as they approach ??

[r1zeek]

No offence, but why ??

The mannerly thing to do would be to hold the door open regardless or do you mean walk ahead of them when a door is near to get it as opposed to being ahead of them and holding it open as they approach ??

He didn't say he wouldn't hold the door open for someone who has their hands free, but he said he would be far more likely to hold it open for someone who has their hands full

[Big RICHARD]

So you'd happily make the person who can't walk under they're own power wheel they're chair all the way across the wet car park dodging traffic as they do so to avoid "positive discrimination"?

Personally, I wouldn't, but it's illegal to discriminate against people who are disabled!

[Knoxville]

He didn't say he wouldn't hold the door open for someone who has their hands free, but he said he would be far more likely to hold it open for someone who has their hands full

Precisley

[Richie]

I know what words were used but without going into the semantics of the phrase, this would mean he wont hold the door open all the time when, IMHO, its just manners to hold the door open regardless....

This is my opinion tho.