These days it appears that the done thing is just to let your kids run feral and make their safety everyone else’s problem.

Easy Tiger (see what I did there)

I dont think this is the case however when out on my evening run i had to run in the road because a car was parked on the pavement, not with 2 wheels on the pavement but completely on the pavement. Not because the road was narrow but because many motorist see the pavement outside their house as their private parking space and whilst I am big and ugly enough to negotiate these obstacles I can be a bit clumsy!
It is a serious issue for people less able or children who have to step into the road.
Anyway I digress. Child and parent spaces are a good idea and if they exist why locate a long way from the entrance.

1. Are you suggesting small children and the disabled are not the most vulnerable on the “road”? Perhaps you think they can walk the furthest?
2. I am kaesae feel my rage 😉 [ i dont shop there but it was the only place that sold nappy washing powder]
3. Anyone know a supermarket car park with walkways then? I cannot think of one but I dont go to many?

Very good (-:

Sounds like a good opportunity for a spot of scrambling practice to me.

I once saw a car stop straddling a pedestrian crossing. A couple of lads were crossing, opened the rear passenger door, went through it and out the other side.

if they exist why locate a long way from the entrance.

Because then they get also used by the bone idle, preventing their use by legitimate users who need them. Moving them further away would discourage that. A better question is, why not?

I’m not arguing against the need for P&C bays, I’m arguing that they don’t need to be right next to the doors.

1) disabled bays aren’t there because disabled drivers aren’t ‘vulnerable’, they’re there because they (often) have decreased mobility and can’t comfortably walk as far.

2) I’m not feeling your rage, I don’t know where it’s been.

3) My local Tesco has a central walkway which runs the width of the car park from the doors.

Because then they get also used by the bone idle

Because they occasionally get used by the bone idle isnt a good reason to remove [edit] relocate them.

Who said anything about removing them? Not me.

Who said anything about removing them? Not me.

New here?

New here?

Thou doth protest too much!

ah its one of those “debates”

Leaves

Put the spaces at the back of the car park if you like, but only if you also provide a sealed impact-proof tube from there to the front door!

Ooh yes, like at the shark zoo. And stingrays and shit.

How did we all manage before the invention of p&c spaces?

Weren’t quite so many supermarkets or cars when I was a lad.

Have you considered that perhaps they were brought in as a response to young kids getting squashed in supermarket car parks?

These days it appears that the done thing is just to let your kids run feral

A two year old running about or not being entirely road safe isn’t “feral” – that’s just a two year old. Even the most perfectly behaved toddler is prone to moments of complete insanity. 😀

I believe I already suggested a solution to that.

I used to have reins when I was a kid, seems pretty sensible to me. Why did they fall out of favour?

If I had a well-behaved dog prone to moments of insanity in the middle of traffic, I’d have it on a goddamn lead.

Maybe I’m not explaining myself properly.

There is a problem that P&C spaces aren’t always available in supermarkets. This is because they’re placed in a premium position and so are an attractive proposition for selfish arseholes in big cars who a) can’t be arsed to walk more than ten yards and b) need more space for a large vehicle / want more space so other arseholes don’t ding them with their car doors out of stupidity or spite.

By putting the P&C spaces further back and providing a clearly marked pedestrian path from there to the supermarket (backed up by traffic calming), they’re no longer such a prime target for the X5 crew. This frees up more spaces whilst providing a safe route in for people who are more than capable of walking an extra twenty yards.

If you can’t safely control a kid for thirty yards in a car park without danger of them being killed to death then either they’re not safe to be out of the house at all or you need to re-evaluate your parenting skills. If your kids have a tendency to run into traffic and you’re not a fan of natural selection, use reins.

In seriousness, I’ve got my tongue fairly in my cheek when typing most of this, but joking aside I genuinely thought it was a good idea.

Two kids, wet, windy, cold and miserable, need to get from car to shop as quickly as possible

Are you soluble? Buy a brolly.

I do so love getting advice from those who do not have kids about what is best to do with kids.
Bookmark this page and re read it when you have kids.
We all thought like you , to some degree, before they arrived.
I dont think you will persuade a parent about parenting from your position tbh

Anything you would like me to tell you about computers as I am as well qualified in that area as you are in parenting.

FWIW my kids dont care if it rains and nor do i

I take your point, but the thrust of what I’m getting at isn’t “how to raise your kids”, it’s “how to improve parking for everyone.” Wouldn’t you welcome more available parking spaces? As you rightly point out, I’m not qualified to advise on the finer points of child-rearing.

By putting the P&C spaces further back and providing a clearly marked pedestrian path from there to the supermarket

If they could deliver on the path (by sacrificing enough parking spaces to provide it) then that would work for me.

I suspect a mum pushing a trolley with one hand, a pushchair with the other, carrying a nappy bag, and holding some reins in her teeth, may still want a place near the door though. 🙂

The Police do **** all about stupid drivers parking anywhere to drop their offspring off, they would have a field day around near me with a high school and primary opposite each other,the amount of drivers parking on pavements and double yellows driving along on the phone ignoring painted roundabouts as though they don’t exist, and parking on blind bends and not giving way when parked cars on their side of the road. 😈

Why would you be carrying bags when you’ve got a perfectly serviceable trolley right in front of you?

There’s no helping the stupid.

I dont care as i dont shop in supermarkets much and taking your kids shopping is madness. They try to persuade you to buy anything with a pic of their favourite character on …..to their credit the organic Scooby Do tri colour pasta was OK and it was amusing eating ghosts…the Dalek biscuits were not so good.

I wish they would stop building all the new schools with the pedestrian access from pavement and bus stop through a staff car park.
Sets the subliminal message ‘take the car’.
IMO, the bus should stop at the school front gate, bike shed should be next to main entrance and staff and visitors park round the back.
Lost track of how many ‘eco’ builds this seems to apply to – schools, offices, hospitals etc.

The closest nursery we could get our kid into is 5 miles away, and in back streets with no parking at all.

I could maybe cycle it but Mrs Grips can’t.

I could maybe cycle it but Mrs Grips can’t.

With your current training regime I think you might find 5 miles a bit of a struggle 😉

Aren’t most good schools over subscribed these day?
Just make walking to school one of the entrance requirements…..

Aren’t most good schools over subscribed these day?

Most good schools have long driveways, private parking and dorms.

Are you soluble? Buy a brolly.

Thanks, but i’ve got enough to carry as it is.

Why would you be carrying bags when you’ve got a perfectly serviceable trolley right in front of you?

There’s no helping the stupid.

Ok, talk me through how this works with a toddling 2 year old and a one year old.

Seriously, from door through to returning the trolley

Sam – some of us did this with a new born, toddler and 3 year old.
We often chose to walk to the supermarket (nearly a mile) with double buggy and rucsacks for shopping. Most weeks it was one of us in car, and you could not park in the kids spot more often than not. So you just do it.

Well, I can see the Nike attitude to shopping might be attractive to some. However, things could be easier.

Ok, talk me through how this works with a toddling 2 year old and a one year old.

Seriously, from door through to returning the trolley

Linky

I’ve been told that people went shopping with young children even before supermarkets and second cars!

Ok, talk me through how this works with a toddling 2 year old and a one year old.

Seriously, from door through to returning the trolley
he told you reins …obviously he knows about how careful you need to be with reins and when they fall you need to be able to lift up as well to swing them away from danger and he can do this for two kids whilst steering the trolley through the carpark

Must admit many of the posts on this thread ring a bell, the absolute worst bit of my commute is past a primary school, normally I’m early enough that there is no-one about but on occasional days when I’m late or coming home very early its no fun.

The school has a combination of yellow barriers, yellow bollards, signage about not killing children, indicative speed warning signs and creepy-as-hell concrete child statues lining the roadsides as well as a lollypop man, lights controlled crossing and speed bumps. Its also got a cycle lane in the road next to the main gate that forms the main link for a safe route avoiding two major roads into town. I should stress that despite the road safety kit its not a busy road outside of school hours

Unfortunately the school was expanded a couple of years back so the car park is now home to new classrooms, parents have responded by making a concerted effort to walk the kids to school noting its a small primary with a limited catchment and parking only in designated bays in the local area putting their hazards on, parking on the pavement, parking in the cycle lane, reversing down the road at speed to grab a prime spot on the pavement by the gates, performing 37 point turns in traffic and generally acting like utter pr**ks. The really fun part is the combination of child safety barriers and other pavement features like the bollards with morons pulling into the cycle lane to drop off their kids – you can’t do much other than slam on the brakes and hope as you can’t go right (back end of 4×4/people carrier parked at an angle in way), can’t go left (leering face of concrete kiddie and/or neon barrier) and straight ahead puts you into the passenger seat of the vehicle, fun times.

taking your kids shopping is madness

But leaving them at home on their own is frowned upon for some reason 😉

I wish they would stop building all the new schools with the pedestrian access from pavement and bus stop through a staff car park.

Here here. At my office there is NO pedestrian access, despite being well served by public transport. You can only access the door by walking up the ramp to the car park. Approaching on foot from the south (where all the bus stops are) you have to either walk around three sides of the building to the car park ramp or scramble over the fence.

We often chose to walk to the supermarket (nearly a mile)…

Do-able if you have a supermarket less than a mile away, have a rucksack big enough to fit the bi-monthly shop in it, and you are strong enough to carry a full trolley load on your back whilst pushing a pram and pulling a toddler.

Sadly that narrows the target audience to roughly 1 in 6 million (you) 😀

I’ve been told that people went shopping with young children even before supermarkets and second cars!

True. My mums generation used to leave all the babies outside in prams while they did their shopping! 😯

Cougar – P&C child spaces are at the front of supermarkets as the people who use them spend the most money. Ergo the supermarkets want to incentivise these people to shop at their store. It’s just economics.

My fave was the Audi driver (worse than BMWs these days) who decided to use the last space at my tesco to sit and wait for his bimbo mrs. After waiting patiently for him to realise people did actually want use the space the look on his face when I knocked on his window and asked him to move screamed “I’m a massive bell”.

As Bradley would say. ****s

*shows off the guns*

We were fortunate, but it is amazing how much you can fit under a double buggy and in a 65lt rucsac. For some reason though we kept wearing buggy wheels out… 😕

Thanks, but i’ve got enough to carry as it is.
…
Ok, talk me through how this works with a toddling 2 year old and a one year old.

Coats? Bags on the trolley hooks? Home delivery? Reins? Child seats in trolleys? Weekly shopping at weekends when there’s two of you to share the load, or one to shop and one to childmind at home?

But really, it’s not my place to be working out your practicalities here. Are you really arguing that you’d rather have unavailable P&C parking bays next to the store rather than available ones farther away?

Ok, talk me through how this works with a toddling 2 year old and a one year old.

Seriously, from door through to returning the trolley

Easy I do it once a week when I take my two, aged 3 and nearly 2 to Morrisons-it’s their treat when it’s pishing down and too wet to go to the playground.Morrison trolleys are two seaters.
1)Park car near trolley park if no Pand C spaces available.
2) Get trolley by inserting coin in slot.Return to car and apply trolley brake.
3)Put kids in trolley.Release brake and off we go

What’s so hard about that?

+1 for Scooby Doo coloured pasta shapes

Scrolled back a bit. Re parent and child spaces, anyone been to Sainsburys in Farnham?

Loads of P&Cs all along the front of the shop, going away form the entrance. So they are not attractive to the lazy people being not right by the door, but there’s tons of room and a dry walkway under the roof of the shop. And funnily enough, we found a space every time.

If it’s such a huge problem manoeuvring all that baggage across a car park, how on earth do you fare in the store? Anyway.

he told you reins …obviously he knows about how careful you need to be with reins and when they fall you need to be able to lift up as well to swing them away from danger and he can do this for two kids whilst steering the trolley through the carpark

I had reins and I don’t appear to be dead. /shrug

But again, I take your point. I’ve no idea. I’m not a parent. But people seem to be focusing on taking my suggestion apart rather than really fielding it though. Would you not rather have to walk a bit farther if it meant that you actually got a dedicated parking space?

Playing devil’s advocate, if I couldn’t deal with two kids, I wouldn’t have two kids. If by some twist of fate I suddenly found myself with them and thus supermarket shopping became a logistical nightmare, I’d order online and have a week’s shop delivered on a Saturday afternoon.