Not sure if anywhere else has these, or just in NJ, but they have parking spots ( mind you that is at least 10 less handicapped spaces for those that need it) for women that are pregnant or with small children. Since when is that necessary? Our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers probably even walked to the store while pregnant and now they need special spaces? Pleeeeease

Yeah, they're everywhere in Australia - parents with prams spots. They're not for pregnant people though.

The reason they have them here is they're much wider than normal parking spaces and you have room to safely have the car doors open while you buckle kids in and out, you have room to be buckling a toddler in with your pram right beside you (I have had my pram stolen from behind my car while I was putting Fraser in his seat, thank god I had already put Ewan in the car first!). They're about safety, not the fact that you cant walk as far. But I have been very glad not to have to kidwrangle a two toddlers through miles of carpark too - being just near the door is much safer.

I think you've either not had a couple of young children or you may need to dig into your memory a bit to remember what it was like! Its a logistical nightmare getting a couple of kids through a carpark and into a car safely. Baby first and toddler runs away, toddler first and where do you leave the baby in his pram? I think the spots are a good idea.

i have yet to see where these parking spaces REPLACE a handicap space. around here, they are located after those designated for the handicap.

i agree w/ the other poster, i dont think you have small children! and just why does it bother you so? whats the problem?

Not sure if anywhere else has these, or just in NJ, but they have parking spots ( mind you that is at least 10 less handicapped spaces for those that need it) for women that are pregnant or with small children. Since when is that necessary? Our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers probably even walked to the store while pregnant and now they need special spaces? Pleeeeease

Ok, you have obvisouly NEVER been pregant or have small children. It can be hard as hell to get small kids into a store safely. There is the stoller, the bag and everything else you have to have. AND forget someone giving you a courtesy to give you a good spot.

SO sorry this bothers you but you have obvisouly never been in those shoes. I had 2 under 2 and used this spot often ONLY when needed.

Doesn't bother me a bit. They have those in IKEA parking lots here. I just look at it as another reason to park a little further away and burn a few more calories by walking :eek:

I'm all for the pregnant parking. I actually asked a police officer if I could park in a HC spot because I was carrying my 10 lb. baby at the time. It was all I could do to shop.

The pram parking? I used a grocery cart.

The only place I've ever seen "pregnant parking" was at Babies R Us ... and of course the spots were always full and I never got to use them :eek:

But I agree with previous posters, you've obviously never been pregnant or have had to lug small children into stores. It's not as easy as you may think

I have never had kids but I am cool with this concept. I believe that the handicapped and pregnant women or parents with a clutch of small children do need handicapped-style parking. The truth is that small kids and the paraphenalia needed to handle their physical needs will place the adult in pretty much the same category as the handicapped individual. I am healthy and child free; I have no problems with the notion of walking. I think that this is a gift.

I'm OK with it. Yes, our parents and grandparents didn't have it, but then they didn't have the Internet either. Sometimes progress is good! :-).

I also see it as a marketing thing, something to entice parents to shop where there is such parking available.

I agree these spots are great. We have them in Canada too & I use to think it was so pathetic that kids/pregnant women couldn't walk that far

UNTIL I was 8 months pregnant & could barely walk any distance comfortably. I only went into stores then when I REALLY had to & was sooooo thankful to have a handy spot. Then when my 2nd one came along & my oldest was under 2yrs old it seemed I had to go to store more for diapers etc etc & then your pulling out strollers, unbuckling car seats & it takes like an hour just to get out of the freakin' car......those spots are great!

I had three children in 22 months...I only shopped at stores that had those spaces...

And, when I was pregnant with the twins...and they weighed 17.5 lbs together plus all of the fluids and placentas etc.....I couldn't even walk from those special parking places...

All that said...if you haven't lived it, then you don't know...and I think that's pretty normal to think it's a waste.

Rain

If those spaces bother you---don't ever try to park at a base grocery store!!!! I went with my DD, and we had to park in the north 40...Handicapped, and then ranking officers...several different ranks had special spaces, then the Mom & Tots spots, military vehicle spots---then us!!!

Woulda highly irritated my Grandma, who would drive around 10 minutes looking for a good spot to park!!!!

Kat

If those spaces bother you---don't ever try to park at a base grocery store!!!! I went with my DD, and we had to park in the north 40...Handicapped, and then ranking officers...several different ranks had special spaces, then the Mom & Tots spots, military vehicle spots---then us!!!

Woulda highly irritated my Grandma, who would drive around 10 minutes looking for a good spot to park!!!!

Kat

That sucks, that they'd put officers before women and children. Oh well, that's the military for you, I guess.

We have them all over in San Diego, mainly in big shopping malls or like someone else said BabiesR'US. They came out with them just after I had my kid. Those parking spaces though are for pregnant moms. I only have one kid so wrangling him isnt a big problem. For the parents who have two or more kid's I could see the point in having them.

What bothers me is when people who don't need the spots use them. Like someone who looks as if they might be like 2 months pregnant. I have two small kids and really I don't ever even use the spots. At the grocery store I will pick a spot near the area where they keep the shopping carts or near a cart left out in the lot. I grab it and throw the kids in there to get them into the store. Maybe I am lucky as I have never really had much of a problem with my kids and parking lots.

We don't have that around here but it sure would be nice. When I was pregnant I wasn't exactly bedridden but I had very limited acitivity because my blood pressure would get really high. They wouldn't give me a handicap tag but I would pass out if my pressure got too high. That would have made shopping feasible... I had to get clothes somehow It would also be nice with my 2 year old. So many people drive around the parking lot like a bat out of hell around here that I have to hold my 35 lb child because I worry. Plus the whole having to put them in and leave the door wide open is a pain because people park waay too close to the lines. Maybe the idea will make its' way down here eventually.