subject: Supermarket Sweep [print this page] Supermarket car parks were designed for ease for all users. Disabled and mother and baby / family parking spaces were put close to the store, to make it easier for people to access the facilities. But the use of parent and child bays has been reported to be the most stressful thing that parents find about shopping with the kids.
Sixty two percent of car park complaints are relating to the use and misuse of the mother and child spaces, with mums of young children being increasingly infuriated by teenage boys and single men using the spaces for convenience when stopping at the shops, while mothers have to struggle with the weeks shopping and their small children. Other gripes reported are the use of these spaces by mothers with no children in the car, simply a car seat, or women with teenagers in the car, misusing the space for their own gain.
There are strict laws governing the use of the disabled spaces in shops and stores, but there are no actual laws in place of who can and can't use the mother and baby spaces. Supermarkets often work on a sense policy, hoping that users will be kind and considerate, but companies like Sainsbury's and Tesco can fine 50 or more if they catch someone using the space without a child.
As if these women don't have enough to worry about. I suggest lending an under two year old to a teenage boy and making them go shopping with them, and see how often they use the mother and baby space after that!
