Woman slammed for using parent-and-child parking space - without a child

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She claimed the normal spaces were too tight to get out of her car with her bump (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images)
She claimed the normal spaces were too tight to get out of her car with her bump (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Being pregnant can be difficult, so when you're out shopping and the only parking spaces are the ones at the other end of the car park it can be frustrating. One pregnant woman was slammed for parking in a parent and child spot - despite not having her child with her.

Being called out by another driver, she claimed she was "berated" for taking the parent and child spot, but being six months pregnant she felt as if she had no other choice as she was struggling with her mobility as she would hobble, and she stated it was a tight fit for her to get out of her car in a normal space.

Asking if she was wrong to have parked in the parent and child spot, she took to Mumsnet for other opinions. She wrote: "At a supermarket today- I didn't have my child with me, however, I am six and a half months pregnant with my third child and suffering with what I have come to refer to as 'daggers' - very painful shooting pains in my glutes that leave me hobbling in a most inelegant manner by the end of the day.

"The parking spaces in the car park are very narrow, to the point where I struggle to fit myself and my bump out of the door and it was all getting a bit ridiculous, so today I decided to park in one of the parent and child spaces of which there are many, and I didn't take the last empty one so that I wouldn't have to squeeze out of the door and would have less distance to painfully shuffle into the shop.

"Afterwards I was putting my shopping in my car when I was accosted by some absolute cowbag who berated me for taking a parent and child space even though I didn't have a child with me. I pointed out the obvious, bump, mobility problems, and plenty of spaces to go round, and she said I still had no right to park there and potentially deprive someone with a child of a space. At this point, I decided not to bother engaging and just got in my car and left. Was I being unreasonable?"

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One mum was quick to agree she was being unreasonable as she said: "Well they're not 'pregnancy' parking spaces are they? Good reason why spaces are provided for parents of young children and you'll appreciate this when your baby arrives. I think you could probably manage a normal space like other people experiencing temporary discomfort are able to. I wouldn't have challenged you on it but would have thought it," to which she replied: "I already have two young children so I know all about the logistics involved- and I’m not 'experiencing temporary discomfort' I am experiencing constant pain which affects my ability to walk, and I'm also more than twice my usual circumference. And technically I did have a child with me, just not one that’s ready to take up its own seat in the car yet."

Niamh Kirk

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