Parent and child parking is such a contentious issue. With two young children, I find it genuinely useful to park in a space with that bit of extra room so I can lift my offspring in and out of their seats.
Like most parent’s, however, I find the parent and child bays are all too often full. Not only are they full, but in my experience they’re usually full of cars driven by people looking sheepish because they have no children with them.
If you’re male, you also face the irritation of the car parking bays being labelled for “mother and child” or a figure of a woman spray painted on the parking space. Not a huge issue in the greater scheme of things, but it is annoying.
On one recent shopping trip, I found one of the tiny number of parent and child bays had been sliced in two to make room for recycling bins. I then found another one being used to park shopping trolleys; not just stranded, but a shelter had been built right over the parking bay.
For fun, I started a photographic record of some of the weirder parking bays I came across. I’ve added three here. Please do leave a comment below and tell me what you think. If this works well, I may make it a regular feature.
Is this a parent and child parking bay or not (note also female figure)?
I’m all for equality, but same sex couple parking??
Finally, just how is your head attached to your body…and what is going on with your arms??
9 thoughts on “Some ‘parent and child’ car parking fun”
Heh, most bizarre. I do find people who park in parent-and-child spots when they don’t need them annoying (and that includes parents with empty child seats and no kids). The same goes for parking in spots set aside for those with blue disabled badges. It’s funny how aggressive some of these people get when confronted too, as if they’ve done no wrong.
In idler moments, I’ve daydreamed about spending my spare hours patrolling around towing offenders’ vehicles to the furthest corner of the car park and then letting the air out of all their tyres. If only … 🙂
I’ve had a couple of arguments in the car park over these (which is really out of character for me as I’m not a brave person!). In my experience they are always being used by elderly people, who are clearly not entitled to a disabled badge, so they think they’re entitled to use a parent and child space instead. They want to try getting a 2 year old and a 4 year old in and out of a car while 39 weeks pregnant!
lol, love the photo’s I’m guilty of parking in a parent and child spot with our 27 yo daughter, as more often than not the disabled spaces are over flowing. Although she walk, she cannot be left unsupervised so we need to open the car door as wide as possible to get her in and out and I often wonder why all the disabled and parent and child spaces have to be situated right by the store.
Looks like they’ve employed some children to draw the last photo!
The thing that annoys me the most is the parent (I’m afraid this is usually a dad in my experience) who parks the car, sits in it reading the paper, the kids are still in the back seat while mum pops out to pick up the shopping. They do not need the extra room the space provides, they’re just lazy. Grrrr…
I ended up in a tight space trying to squeeze my little one out of the car door In the rain! I fully agree with this blog also but I have been on the receiving end of some unfair and harsh abuse from a parent for parking in a parent and child space without having any children with me. People shouldn t be rude and quick to judge as I was actually there to help a friend in need who s double buggy broke at the supermarket.
Funny you should mentikon this. Once r twice I’ve pulled into a parent and child bay to collect my wife and kids or someone else with offspring and I have felt a bit out of place. Interestingly I can think of one quite dark multi-storey I know where parent and childcare car park use is rife by people without kids. When out in the open, I think it’s less common.
Parents usually just park anywhere that they find and start watching or reading something on their phones, regardless of others.
And does this differ from anyone else parking a car?