'Parents with prams' parking etiquette...

[Indadhanu]

Now obviously if you are a parent with a pram theres no worrying about whether you have the right to use that spot.

BUT what if you are a parent but ARENT going to use a pram... what about if you use a trolley seat BUT you have to get your bub out and carry them to the trolley... can you still use the spot?

We do, at our local woolies, and never had an issue with other people before, but the other day was told off (well, a sarcastic "yeah sure looks like you're using a pram...") as we were walking away... I was carrying Jazz from the car to find a trolley with a baby capsule/seat. As far as I'm concerned, if I am going to be carrying her its safer to carry her a short distance than to weave and dodge through the car park... And the thing is... there were HEAPS of other pram spots so I didnt think us not actually using a pram was an issue?

So what do you think? Should we not park there unless I am actually using a pram? Or is it ok because we have a very young baby?

[nic]

We only have 1 or two parents with prams at our shops, so I only use it if I have the pram. Other times, I just park the car wherever and walk in with DS.
The other week I went to use the parents with pram park, and it was taken by someone who I can only assume, had no children as there was no car seat at all in the car! Peeved me off BIG time. I could be wrong though...they could've had a child who has no car seat, but has a pram??

Nic

[queenbee]

i would say its ok if you are not using a pram, never really thought about it. we have always used the pram when we park in a pram park but i wouldn't say anything to anyone just because they weren't using a "pram". i can't believe someone was so rude to say that out loud, what is wrong with people these days? how miserable is that!

i have encountered someone parking there before with no baby seat, a young girl ventures on out of the shopping centre, must be around 18 years old and gets in her car with her ever so lovely "playboy" seat covers, what a cow.

[Junglemum]

Sometimes i park there and use my carrier. It is just as hard to get a baby out with all the associated cr@p when using my carrier as it is when i use my pram. I think the signs should say 'parents with small children'. That's how i interpret them anyway.

I hate it when i see mum's park there, and they have car seats but no kids! That's a bit cheeky.

[Ozstar]

I think the signs should say 'parents with small children'. That's how i interpret them anyway.

I agree! I think so long as you have a small child then its fine to use them.

[Kailani]

I hate it when i see mum's park there, and they have car seats but no kids! That's a bit cheeky.

Hehe, sometimes when I used to take Mum's car out to the shops my DP would say "we can park there (parents with prams), we have sun shades and a car seat, no one will know!" Of course I never would!!

I definitely only thought it was okay to park there if you were using a pram/carrier/trolley and had the kids with you (obviously!) as I assumed the spots are there so you don't have to "push" your mode of kiddie transport far! I could be wrong...

Nonetheless, whoever said that comment to you should have kept quiet. Who takes a pram into the supermarket anyway? Wouldn't you just use a trolley?! Grr would have made me mad.

[MrsB26]

I would say its ok to park there even if you are not using a pram, you obviously have a small child to anyone who sees you park there. My closest shops are at a major Wesfield and i go there atleast twice a week - i am forever seeing people who dont even have children with them parking the parents/prams parks. It really irks me that people do this. There are times now when i dont feel like walking 2 k's from the car to the shops with my big belly in the heat but you certainly dont see me taking the closer parks designated for people with children who need them.

Cant believe that someone gave you 'the look of shame'

[Lolli]

Hmmm.... I'll admit, on my bad days I seethe at people without prams (even if they have a small child) who park in those spots.
In my more enlightened and zen moments, I totally reckon that while your kids are small enough to come with the paraphenalia that little kids entail (pram, carrier, stroller, overflowing nappy bag plus a lunch bag, sippy cup, toys... the list goes on) you should use the spaces for all their worth- even if you're not using the pram on that particular day (like Dachlostar said).
Not that I ever get to use them anyway. At my local shopping centre, there are about 6 of them in the 300+ carpark. The mums with older kids seem to go there straight after school drop-off, so they are full by 9am. And these mums probably need them more than me cause they'd be more exhausted (I assume the exhaustion just multiples with every new child!).

[Lisa]

If I have Harrison with me, regardless if he is in his pram or not, I park in the "Parents with Prams" spaces. I figure they are there, close to the shops as it is a safe distance away, and usually has the easier access to the shops, without me having to weave through the carpark which could be dangerous with a baby/toddler. I've not once had anyone comment on me parking there.

[Janie]

It would never have to occurred to me to be bothered about a parent parking there, but NOT using their pram!

As others have said, I see those spaces as being for people with small children. Whether or not you use a pram, it's still difficult, and potentially dangerous to weave through a car park with a baby/toddler. Quite frankly, I think it's ridiculous and petty to think that a parent MUST use a pram if they park there.

[Kazbah]

I use them when I have Pip with me - I'll wait for a spot if I have the baby carrier with me (it takes longer to put on than getting a pram!) or am just tired. I also take the bare minimum Pip stuff in shopping with me, so if I need a clean nappy (then I'll take the dirty one to the car and swap it for a clean one) or a blankie etc ... I prefer to leave stuff in the car than lug it around with me!

[jackrose]

people can be sooo rude!!

I think you had a perfect right to use the space. The signs cannot be taken so literally as to mean that you cannot use them with a "pram aged" child. My understanding of these spaces was that they served two purposes, one that they are closer to the door of the shops and two that they are sized slightly larger so you can manage with the baby/pram more easily. You certainly need the extra space with a baby in a car seat whether you are using a pram or not based on the fact that you have to get in to the back seat and manipulate a 5-10+kg baby out again!

I agree with curly, parking near the trolley return works better for me when I don't use the pram as then I can pop bub straight into the trolley, or drop the trolley off straight after loading the car with groceries.

And yeah curly,

It's really an honour system and it's not enforceable

it is funny the way some people attempt to be the enforcers even if they don't have kids themselves. My mum came to pick me up from the shops one day when I had DD in the pram, she used the parents with pram spot (was prob there for a grand total of 5 min in picking me up) and she was yelled at by a passer by for not having a baby! She was busy telling him to settle down as it was a legitimate use when I appeared with pram... he quickly shut up and disappeared. Pity it leads to such angst when the principle is really so good.

(BTW, I would love to have 'parked in' the teenager with the playboy seat covers! Let them have a little think about the use of the spot while they waited for me to finish my shopping!)

[Phteven]

I interperate it as meaning any parent with a pram even if you happen to not be using it on that day.

[Curly]

It's really an honour system and it's not enforceable. I don't even bother looking for one of those spots anymore. I actually prefer to park right near the trolley return so I only have to walk a few steps to return the trolley after getting DS into his car seat, or further away from the doors, where I'm likely to have an empty spot right next to me so I have plenty of room to load and unload DS and pram.

However, there have been occasions when I have popped into the shops late in the evening and parked in the Parents with Prams spots even though I am kid-free. And I'm ready for anyone who challenges me...

"yeah, well, the amount of times I've been stiffed by a car that doesn't even have carseats in it when I DO have a pram means that I've earned it!"

[kirsty_lee]

As far as I know it's not only 'pram users' parking, it's parent parking, i park there all the time and not always use a pram

[Lolli]

As far as I know it's not only 'pram users' parking, it's parent parking, i park there all the time and not always use a pram

Fair point... maybe the ettiquette depends on what the centre has called it- "Parents with Prams Parking" or "Parents Parking".....

[Arimeh]

We park in them even if we don't use a pram - why - because its safer to open the car door wide to get bubs out with the extra width the car space offers.

I much prefer to not risk bumping my kids heads on the top of the car when getting them out.

If anyone wants to fight with me in the car park over that - I'm always ready

[Sair]

Here at Coles in Horsham it is called Young Families Parking. I would say you are fine to park there if you don't use a pram, as someone else said, as if you would use your pram to go grocery shopping. It isn't practical. I would use it until you are told not to by a council person.