carpark rules

O.K. so yesterday I had one of those incredibly rare days here I got a parent carpark at the mall. You know those parks with a picture of a woman pushing a pram. So as I'm leaving to go home I'm packing the twins and the stroller into the car and a woman pulls into a free parent carpark next to me. (By the way at this mall there is only 3 or 4 parent carparks that I know of) She gets out the car and starts to head inside with no child or pram???? I thought maybe she didn't realize so I said "Excuse me but did you know you parked in the parent carpark?" She got really agro and snapped that her child was inside! I couldn't see a carseat in her car so I wasn't really impressed.

So my question (after that massive story, sorry) is what are the actual rules with parent carparks? For all I know she may have had a child inside but I'm guessing it was a much older child. The picture on the park shows a pram so I always assumed it was for people with young babies and toddlers that require a pram? It takes me ages to get the double pram out and load the twins into it so I prefer undercover parking in the winter which is almost impossible to get let alone trying to get the parent carparks which a few and always taken. Personally it would really peeve me off if I had to try and wrestle the girls into the pram in the rain while someone with an older child that doesn't require all that fluffing around takes the parent carparks undercover

She may have had a baby in a capsule inside?

I am not sure of the rules but it too does really annoy me when people who clearly dont have a young baby just use them because they are handy.

I do often wonder how old is one considered a 'baby'? I dont use them so much anymore as my girls are older and I dont feel I need them as much as others would.

yip i definatly think that the requirement to park there should be if ya using your pram, when i'm just wipping into the shops or going to the supermarket and carrying Rory i dont use the parks i leave them for parents who need the space to set up their buggys etc....

they are a courtesy thing tho and not a legal requirement that you have to have a child or pram to park there. sure i get a bit hmmmf if someone without kids park there but its not like the disabled parking....

I use them without a pram ..

Issy wont stay in a pram in the mall so I usually have to carry her. I'd prefer not to park miles away from the door, whilst heavily pregnant waddling whilst trying to carry a heavy 15 month old

Oh and I also wouldnt have a problem with a pg woman using them .. she is with "child" after all

Fortunately our Westfield has quite a few parent carparks .. (at least 10) and they are all right by the door to all the "kids" shops so super handy!

Are they wider?? All of the ones I have seen are normal size and uncovered and I often wonder what the point of them is. It's not like mothers are disabled!

Mmm I get really annoyed when I try to get a carpark at newworld cause the parent carparks are actually wider there and we drive a volvo so the doors are slightly longer which means I need a wider park to open the door without slamming it into the cra next to me when gettign Mattias out of the car. The other day I went there and there was a little BMW roadster parked in the only parent carpark! You coudn't actually take a child in that car since it has an airbag on the only seat other than the drivers seat! Grrr

My accountant won't park in a disabled car park which is fair enough whyw ould you. But she will park in a parent carpark which i can kinda see her point as its not like a mother is disabled. I've only really seen them at sylvia park and those are up the top on the roof and not under cover anyway and some at countdown in highland park which yet again aren't undercover anyways.

I can see it being a bonus when its christmas tho as those seem to be empty majority of the time

LittleSal wrote: Are they wider?? All of the ones I have seen are normal size and uncovered and I often wonder what the point of them is. It's not like mothers are disabled!

at the risk of upsetting people , and no offence meant to anyone , I agree with that , my mother was able to park in a normal car park with 3 kids under 4 and she managed, as did most women from our parents generation .
If a pregnant lady or a lady with a baby was wanting to use one tho , and I saw a lady who was neither using it I would be miffed tho, but more on principal, they SHOULD go to the mum with baby first I think .
And if the mum parks are wider then thats an understandable reason why they are popular as well

Edited by caitlynsmygirl

If the lady had left a child in the car then wouldn't that be illegal?

The other advantage with parent parks in some locations is that they are located in a safer area...they might be in front of the shop or in an area that is not so busy with cars looking for parks.

As for cars parking to close to your car, have to agree! Once when I was 8 months pregnant I couldn't get into the drivers seat because of this. Your tummy doesn't exactly squish when you are this pregnant...with twins! Had to get in from the passenger side and then maneouver into the drivers seat, not easy