Parent & Toddler Parking

[wjp666]

i can understand a special 'large' parking space for people with babies who need access with prams etc... it ranks up there with disabled wheelchair parking...

 

what i don't get is is why people with WALKING 2 or 3 year olds have special 'parent and toddler spaces' allocated to them right next to the supermarket entrance. the spaces aren't any bigger than regular spaces, the only difference is that they are closer to the shop. why?

 

are people with toddlers unable to walk? are the toddlers themselves unable to walk? (and i'm not buying into the rubbish that it increases the chances of them getting run over if they park further away.)

 

i don't get why they get the same priority as people with genuine complaints (such as wheelchairs.) whats up with this?

 

(apologies for this rant - but i've just had a bad parking experience in Asda...)

wjp6662007-03-31 15:52:16

[Scarlet Passion]

People who have kids should be made to stay at home and shop online until their kids start school. That's what I think................

 

No honestly,    I can't think of a reason why they do that, apart from the being run over one of course, but that isn't really a good reason, especially if it means that people with a genuine disability are having to park half way down the car park.

But then who knows why supermarkets do any of the daft things they do?

Like suddenly discontinuing something you have bought every week for over a year because it didn't sell??

[goldencup]

Toddlers still need help to get strapped into their car seats and this needs a certain amount of room.  Probably not that much though!

[wjp666]

Toddlers still need help to get strapped into their car seats and this needs a certain amount of room.  Probably not that much though!

 

no problem with that theory, but 90% of these spaces are no bigger in size (those are the 'baby' spaces.) they're just closer to the store. so if they REALLY do need bigger spaces to be strapped in and all that, why do they have to be so close to the store? why not stick 'em over the other side of the carpark? (if they did that, no parents with toddlers would use them anyway - thus proving my point.)

 

i don't understand why parents with toddlers need to be put in the same priority zone as handicapped people.

wjp6662007-03-31 18:52:14

[goldencup]

Good points and I see you said earlier that these spaces are no bigger - slapped wrist for GC for not reading the post properly!

[wjp666]

 don't make me discipline you...

[oldspice]

Wip666 - have you ever BEEN shopping with a toddler or two?

[wjp666]

yes, of course. never used the spaces on principle. wjp6662007-03-31 19:13:56

[smurfboy]

I think there should be special supermarkets where no toddlers are allowed - then I wouldn't have to listen to them throwing tantrums because they can't have sweets!

[StarSparkle]

Im glad this was brought up, i was on a bit of a rant the other day when i seen it mentioned in one of the other posts. I can understand why the parent and toddler spaces should be wider but i have to clue why they all need to be so close to the door!? Some one mentiond "none parent and toddler users parking in them asking why cant they walk across the car park" Why cant parents and kids? or can people not push prams that far? So i guess i pretty much agree with wjp666. 
 

[loulou]

I think there should be special supermarkets where no toddlers are allowed - then I wouldn't have to listen to them throwing tantrums because they can't have sweets!

 

Excellent idea.

[Scarlet Passion]

"none parent and toddler users parking in them asking why cant they walk across the car park" Why cant parents and kids? or can people not push prams that far? So i guess i pretty much agree with wjp666. 
 

Erm I think that might have been me you're quoting there StarSparkle, but I've seen women with kids and a full trolley struggling across a car park because the special parking spaces are taken up by men in vans who don't want to be bothered to walk any further than they have to, and people who are just 'nipping in for a sandwich or a paper'. These people also park in the disabled and elderly parking spaces.

This is wrong.

People should think about others more. If you can walk that far (with or without kids) then you should park away from the doors and leave those spaces for people who need them.

If I have any doubts about something I'm thinking of doing I think about my gran. If she wouldn't have liked it, then I don't do it. If it would have made her smile or made her proud then I'm OK.

I won't be parking near the doors until I have to and I hope that's a long long time away yet.

[Scarlet Passion]

I forgot to put it on my post,  but I like the idea of child free supermarkets. Not all of them, but a few selected ones would be good.

They fill up with kids during the holidays and it's a nightmare when all you want is a loaf of bread and a tin of beans for dinner and you're on a bus timetable.

And if you kick 'em out of the way or trample them in your rush to a till their mum's scowl at you something fierce.

[oldspice]

I think I would draw the line at child-free supermarkets but I like the pubs where only adults are allowed to sit down and eat a meal and enjoy a drink. Some 'family pubs' are a nightmare to eat in because of the kiddies running in and out, in between tables etc and then howling when they are strapped into a kiddy seat to eat. Of course, family pubs are a godsend for people with children but I have stopped visiting them now my kids have grown up.

[wjp666]

i wish a lot of places were child-free... cinemas and bowling alleys spring to mind!