Mother and Baby Spaces in Car Parks ?

[KayCee114]

Just out of curiosity and i by no means want to cause offence.

But what would you do if the stores didn't have the mother and baby bays?

Good point and I suppose we just have to be thankful that they do have them.

If not, and I was forced to park in a normal space, I would park over 2 spaces!

Im not risking the same thing as happening before and I would tell anyone that who challenged me.

Hopefully I only have a few days left like this anyway and then I'll be able to use the bays without worrying that people might not like it.

Xxx

 

[emmajane]

Sorry to go against the grain here and this is only because these bloody spaces are one of my gripes now. So much so that I do tell people off who are using them when they are not allowed!!

I did use them when I was pregnant but now I struggle to get the boys out of the car soooooo much now that I would be annoyed if a pregnant woman used the last space and I was left struggling. However I don't see any harm in pregnant woman using them if that makes any sense!!

 

[Shady_R]

I used them when i was preg with my oldest, i certainly wouldnt go mad cause a lady who is preg has parked in one. I know how it feels when you cant get in or out of the car and need extra room. Tesco paid a parking fine that a lady was given cause she parked in one when she was due any day, they backed her up all the way saying she needed the space. It is a nightmare when you have the baby too. I do think its important we remember how we felt at that stage too.

 

[Kayleigh Lou]

I am actually against pregnant women using these parking bays. For every pregnant women using these bays is one more who is putting my children at risk.

BUT and this is a very BIG BUT i feel that councils and stores need to do something to make shopping easier for pregnant people. Bays for pregnant people, wider bays, more mother and baby bays so we can all use them (pregnant and those with youngers).

To be honest i Dont think there is enough mother and baby bays as it is. I see double the amount of disabled bays and half of them not being used.

Isnt there a petition for pregnancy bays, or atleast more bays for mother and baby????

 

[Mrs A]

Sorry to go against the grain here and this is only because these bloody spaces are one of my gripes now. So much so that I do tell people off who are using them when they are not allowed!!

I did use them when I was pregnant but now I struggle to get the boys out of the car soooooo much now that I would be annoyed if a pregnant woman used the last space and I was left struggling. However I don't see any harm in pregnant woman using them if that makes any sense!!

I also dont mean to cause offence, but noticed you said you did use them when you were heavily pregnant ...................... So thats ok

BUT now your not you would challenge someone who is heavily pregnant who uses them cause you struggle to get your children in and out of the car?!

So what you think others didnt struggle when you were using them? and did anyone challenge You?

Sorry but this is one of my gripes, whats good for the goose is good for the gander imo

xx

 

[pinktaffy]

i personaly dont find them any easyer to park in the baby parking spots . most of the time they r full anyway so just park in the nearest spot to werever i wanna go or in a gap with 2 parking spaces in i need the room to get out with the baby. when i was pregnant i just parked as close as possible i never used the baby parking spaces didnt see the need and i had spd. but as i said i still dont use them with a baby lol.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I think teh mother and baby spaces are bigger because they need the room to get the car seat out of the car and teh pram and its nearer the store so safre for children/toddlers when they are walking and they need to be on the path. I think thats their purpose but not sure as I don't drive. But I think you actually have to have a child with you to qualify for one. And you have they are just in your tummy, its not your fault they make you hueg so you need room to get between the cars.
xx

 

[bluebaby]

i really don't want to cause an argument but these spaces are the bain of my life at the moment.

These spaces are so important to women with small babies as the extra room is vital for you to get your baby and car seat and/or pram out without causing damage to any car or any person. also it is so heavy carrying a car seat with child any distance not even mentioning the rain. If you feel like you need extra room park over 2 spaces or park where no one else is parked around you.

 

[KayCee114]

It doesn't help that the normal spaces are so damn small! And that people don't bother to manouver in them to make sure they are in the middle.

Cars have got bigger and bigger and the spaces haven't!

Also, even the small 3 door cars have problems due to the huge doors.

I think that the spaces should be redrawn and made into a sensible size, then people would be needing to use the specially allocated bays as much.

Xxx

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Sorry to go against the grain here and this is only because these bloody spaces are one of my gripes now. So much so that I do tell people off who are using them when they are not allowed!!

I did use them when I was pregnant but now I struggle to get the boys out of the car soooooo much now that I would be annoyed if a pregnant woman used the last space and I was left struggling. However I don't see any harm in pregnant woman using them if that makes any sense!!

I also dont mean to cause offence, but noticed you said you did use them when you were heavily pregnant ...................... So thats ok

BUT now your not you would challenge someone who is heavily pregnant who uses them cause you struggle to get your children in and out of the car?!

So what you think others didnt struggle when you were using them? and did anyone challenge You?

Sorry but this is one of my gripes, whats good for the goose is good for the gander imo

xx

How I read it was she did it when she was pregnant but now she has had to struggle with the children and get them out of teh car she wouldnt do it again if she became pregnant because she knows how hard it is
xx

 

[Gingerspice]

I understand these being there, but I personally wouldn't use them. I am perfectly mobile and I always park further out from the store anyway as you can easily find a space and pull straight in. By the time you've walked to the store you've got there quicker than others that are circling around looking for a space thats nearer. It just doesn't make sense.
I haven't yet struggled with parking next to someone and then not being able to get out. If its me driving I park over to one side so I can open driver side more. If OH is driving and the space is tight I get out before he then pulls into the bay. I always park so the extra space is also their driver side so their driver can still get in and out of their car.

however, if I was struggling with mobility when pregnant I would understand why you would choose to use those bays. But in my opinion, for that reason, you are not using a mother and toddler baby you are usigng a disabled bay. Shops should allow some kind of temporary disability badge for such people so they can use the disabled bays for their stores (I'm not saying you should have to use an official badge as I understand these are difficult to get fr temporary disability although some councils do indeed issue them). There are loads more of these always available than the mother and toddler bays, and by pregnant people using those instead of the disability ones then there are parents who will have to have parked elsewhere and then not be able to get children out of cars safely and then contend with car parks with children etc (although I am of the opinion that children, if not old enough to understand the car park safety things they should be on reins - but thats down to parents decision).

I would not approach a pregnant women who had used one of those bays, as I said I understand why they did, but if I cannot find a space and had several children and saw someone who I thought did not require such a space I would perhaps query why they're using it. Only to raise awareness that I have had to park elsewhere when I am the entitled user and they are not. I wouldn't get arsey with them or anything, and if they stated it was down to mobility I would discuss how we should petition stores to allow designated shopper disability badgers issued from the store to be used in disability places and pregnant women struggling with mobility should be able to have one.

Its all well and good everybody on here moaning whether people should or shouldn't use them, but unless stores are notified of such problems and issues then they will not see a need to even think about changing their guidelines or perhaps providing more spaces.

 

[Mrs A]

They also wouldnt give out stickers you can pt in your car to enable you to use them if they didnt feel it was right.

I can understand how others read posts, however i wrote my reply based on how i read it, as ive said im not trying to cause offense merely answer the question at the beginning of the thread and voice my opinions, which is what a forum is for.

 

[chetnaz]

I have a 3 year old plus im pregnant with twins so i qualify to use them and sometimes use them even if my 3 year old isnt with me (if you saw the size of my bump, you'd understand). What reaaaallly annoys me though is when i see people drive into these spaces that are clearly not pregnant and have no kids!! Last week a man drove into a space just as i was about to. He didnt even have a car seat at the back and it was obvious that he only park there out of convenience to him!! Its sooo wrong! I wouldnt park in a disabled bay, but childless and non pregnant people think nothing of parking into a mother and child bay!

I was going to go up to this man and challenge him but my DH wouldnt let me, said its not worth it.

 

[DebzD]

This thread has already been discussed and got quite heated - the last time it was commented on was Mar 25th at 11.30pm so you could maybe find it and have a read through?.... it got up to about 240 responses in the end.
Hope this helps.

 

[Hayley90]

I dont see any problem with a pregnant person using the m&b spaces, if there is 1) a need - some pregnant people get in and out of cars fine and walk around fine (like me) so i think id be taking liberties if i took someone elses rightful space. and 2) enough spaces left for other parents who may already have children.

If everyone co-operates there is no reason why it shouldnt work. However i do think certain pregnant women should be issued a temp. "disability" badge or something similar entitling them to use reserved bays - then there would be no argument, as would be catered for when pregnant & once our children are here. Just like we get NHS charges exemption cards - there should be ones for parking!

i cant drive atm, so Liam always leaves me a huge gap anyway, as the door has a habit of swinging open away from me, and there isnt always an empty gap on the other side!!
x

 

[modo]

I sometimes have a really bad back and my spd plays up but I still feel relativily mobile so DH and I never use these spaces.

However for a pregnant woman who is clearly struggling on crutches I don't see why we can't have some compassion for her and understanding.

At my hospital one such woman was in line for the bathroom but no one was giving her any eye contact despite the fact it was clear she was suffering. Once my turn came up I let her go ahead of me. We were all pregnant in that line for the toilet and I can't believe I was the only who offered her a space.

 

[Gingerspice]

I tell you what bugs me more than people using M&B spaces more, and that is cars that park up on the pavement so they block half the pavement.

It is my belief if you are going to intrude on the pavement then you can't complain if (more likely when) a buggy goes past and puts a hug scratch down the side of the vehicle. It bugs me more than anything when I see cars have blocked the pavement. Grr...

 

[Gingerspice]

I tell you what bugs me more than people using M&B spaces more, and that is cars that park up on the pavement so they block half the pavement.

It is my belief if you are going to intrude on the pavement then you can't complain if (more likely when) a buggy goes past and puts a hug scratch down the side of the vehicle. It bugs me more than anything when I see cars have blocked the pavement. Grr...

 

[BrookieG]

i dont really have any opinion on whether you should or shuoldnt use a M&C parking bay whilst pregnant but the comment on using the disabled spaces really bugs me! My mum is disabled n walks on 2 sticks n sometimes we have to park so far away from the store because people use the disabled parking when they dont need it! And if im being brutally honest if i was taking my mum shopping and couldnt get a space coz a pregnant woman was in the space id go mental! In my opinion this is when it would be acceptable to use the mother and child spaces....i do struggle getting in and out the car and am lucky enough that i dont suffer from SPD or anything so maybe in that particualr case yeah but being pregnant ISNT a disability and id have something to say if i had to make my disabled mother walk because someone was using the disabled space when they shouldnt...just my honest opinion x

 

[Gingerspice]

I agree with that, which is why I said if they are pregnant who are experiencing disability problems due to something like SPD then they should be able to get a temp disbility badge for that store, as, well certainly my local store, there are loads of disability spaces and loads empty but not enough M&B spaces as they're always full.

I wasn't suggesting that all pregnant women should get one automatically, and SPD, although caused by pregnancy still causes disabilities. I know of women who are constantly or occasionally have to use wheelchairs for it while pregnancy because of it. Many use crutches because of it, so you would claim that your mother, who is also on sticks, has more right to use a space near to a store for people suffering from mobility problems has more right than someone who is also suffering from immobility, but just because their's may be temporary and triggered by pregnancy they have no right to use it!?!?