To have been upset by this encounter today

This happened to me a few years ago, from two sets of abusive parents. I called the security guard who verified I had been given permission to park there because no other spaces were available, and ordered them to stop.
I would never use a disabled parking space, but these parents are young, able bodied and healthy.
Also ignorant.

Absolutely the man with the blue badge was right to park in a p&c space. There were none when my children were small and I coped!

When my children were small there were no P&C spaces. Somehow everyone managed. What on earth will that young woman do when faced with a real problem? She may well have been having a terrible time - everyone with small children has those days - we're all faced with inconvenience. But aggressive behaviour like that solves nothing - just passes on the bad feelings even to those obliged to witness. Kudos to the older person for staying calm and shame on a young woman who has a great deal of growing up to do.

Can't help sensing a strain of righteousness from some women who appear to consider that being a mother makes them more important and entitled. Not all, by any means.

Yes, it's good that car parks often now have parent and child spaces, but I suspect many of us didn't even have a car at our disposal when our children were young. And we managed.
There's quite a lot of truth in the old saying - the more you get the more you want.

I'd rather have a baby than the problems my girl had with her mobility.
It's an insult to compare the two, as far as I'm concerned.

At what age does a P&C space become unnecessary? I’ve just seen a Mum and her son (who looked old enough to shave) use such a space! I’ve parked in a P&C space with my 4yr old DGS - so what are the boundaries?
I’ve mentioned before that DD1 who is a full time wheelchair user needs the wider bay to get her chair alongside to transfer, but technically doesn’t need to be right next to the store entrance. She’s long supported a sort of 2 tier blue badge, so wheelchair users would get the wider bays, but those able to walk, but short distances would get the spaces nearer the shop.

Missiseff

I would've been as angry as the young woman tbh. Parent & child means just that. How awful for her

I think blue badge holders trump parents with children and are allowed to park in any spaces

Then there are disabled mothers with babies, too.

I parked with my elderly mother in a P&C bay because no spaces in D bay, she is a wheelchair user. That’s what we WERE P&C!

My heart breaks for her.

I would've been as angry as the young woman tbh. Parent & child means just that. How awful for her

A lot of patents don't realise that in some places they have a policy from the store that it is perfectly acceptable for a disabled person to use P&C parking if there is no disabled left or they are unsuitable. As a disabled mother in a wheelchair I was targeted a number of times when my child was younger. Parents would see the wheelchair and tell me I had no right to park there and should use the disabled spots. Truth is in some places the disabled spots aren't positioned ideally unlike P&C spots which seem to be right next to the store. They'd often mean crossing a zebra crossing sometimes and with my eyesight also affected this wasn't ideal so sometimes P&C spots were the only option. I recall having an argument with a mother both of us with young babies and she seemed determined that because I had a blue badge I should still use the disabled parking and leave the P&C spots for those who don't have them even though I had a child. My mum had 7 children close together and she often says that some parents have it easy now she used to have 2 of us in a double pram, two children riding on a buggy board, two toddlers holding the pram from each side and the 5 year old wandering alongside. She would go for mile's on buses like this, I remember once asking her why she didn't park in parent & child spots when she had my nephew with her once when she was as babysistting and she told me "because I can carry a baby across a car park, or I can put him in the trolley, someone with a disability may need it." I can't even recall her using a disabled spot when I was a child despite my disability just because I could use a pram or a quad bike at that age, it was only when my condition deterioted that she accepted using one. I have vivid memory a of walking alongside her on crutches and still showing respect to people with disabilities and not taking up their seats on the bus.

Esmay

I don't think that you are being unreasonable .

It's more than possible that things were not going well in this young mum's life - ( a staggering one in four women endure domestic abuse at some stage ) but there's no need to be unpleasant towards an elderly gentleman .
Parking causes such enormous rows and bad feelings .

I've had all sorts of insults when I can't get out of my drive or someone delivering things can't park .

One guy told me ,Who cares ?
I can do what I like. Your house looks like s--t anyway !

A consultant (who works in A and E ) used to live next door to me and he's been unable to answer a call on many occasions due to a young mum insisting on parking in front of his house .
She told him to f--k off .

And I've experienced aggression on the buses .

I've said something when I see someone elderly being pushed and shoved .

On one occasion ; a girl punched a man full in the face breaking his glasses .
The busdriver locked the doors and she was arrested .
We applauded .

I don't look old and disabled until I stand up -I've been glared at and challenged for my seat .

Some people really are unbelievably rude and unpleasant aren't they?
And of course if they're challenged they just become aggressive and even ruder.
Maybe they have their issues, or maybe they're just self entitled people with no idea of how to deal with situations politely and maturely. But it's awful to see adults behaving like this.

overthemoongran- oh yes I remember those days. My new knees are great now but the timed when I couldn't get the door open wide enough to get out are fresh in my memory. However, I didn't park in blue badge spaces or parent and child ones. I just had to manage.

I have a blue badge but I can walk for miles - I don’t need a space close to the shops, I just need a wide bay so that I can open my door fully as my 2 replacement knees just don’t bend enough for me to get back into the car if someone parks too close to me. I’d be happy if the supermarkets provided wide bays at the far end of the car park. If I try parking a distance from the shop it’s s**’s law someone will still park next to me and I have to wait until they return before I can get into my car.

What's with all the excuses for a total stranger being thoroughly obnoxious??? Honestly why's everyone an apologist nowadays, she's old enough to have kids ,she's old enough to keep a ruddy lid on it!

I had my badge wrenched from my arthritic maulers.....but it doesn't mean I'm cured,or that I can squirm into my car with less than 2+feet spacing! An enormous mum accosted me the other day ,yelling "do you know you're in child space?" Or something like, incidentally it was early Tuesday and lots of spaces. I said "yes, I'm old not blind" she screamed"I've got a child!" I replied "well done you ,I've got four!" As I walked away she shrieked after me, I turned walked slowly back and said,"they took my blue badge but I'm not cured, not that it's your business, I need a little more space to get in and out" she looked blankly at me, (no wit) I went shopping. Even when I had my badge some nosey holes would make snidey comments but I NEVER let them get away with it!not on my watch as all the rubbish movies say! incidentally if spaces were needed I'd try and park on an end.

Discourteous behaviour is always unsettling and unpleasant to witness, so I don't think you were unreasonable at all in feeling upset by it.

The point that counts in my estimation is that you tried to help instead of just shrugging your shoulders and saying that it was no business of yours.

Blondiescot the young woman referred to by the OP was completely out of order. There is no need to pander to young mothers the way that seems to be the norm these days.
I well remember the palaver of folding up the pushchair while balancing child and bags to get on a bus. It never crossed my mind to complain. It was just the way it was. Nowadays on buses pushchairs can just be pushed on and have priority seating. There has been trouble when a mother with a pushchair refused to give way to a person in a wheelchair.
Do parents of young children have priority over disabled older people? Not in my book.

I don't think that you are being unreasonable .

It's more than possible that things were not going well in this young mum's life - ( a staggering one in four women endure domestic abuse at some stage ) but there's no need to be unpleasant towards an elderly gentleman .
Parking causes such enormous rows and bad feelings .

I've had all sorts of insults when I can't get out of my drive or someone delivering things can't park .

One guy told me ,Who cares ?
I can do what I like. Your house looks like s--t anyway !

A consultant (who works in A and E ) used to live next door to me and he's been unable to answer a call on many occasions due to a young mum insisting on parking in front of his house .
She told him to f--k off .

And I've experienced aggression on the buses .

I've said something when I see someone elderly being pushed and shoved .

On one occasion ; a girl punched a man full in the face breaking his glasses .
The busdriver locked the doors and she was arrested .
We applauded .

I don't look old and disabled until I stand up -I've been glared at and challenged for my seat .

I have disabilities (though i don't drive) and my son who drives has a blue badge of his own, (disabled also) but no he never parks in a parent& child space he says he's 'not allowed to' (he's a stickler for the rules?)If there's no disabled spaces left he too lets me out then parks elsewhere, even though he has further to walk himself. ?

"My" supermarket wouldn't care and basically tell parents to park in the blue badge spaces or vice versa.
They dint even care when customers with vans - and appetites non badge holding contractors to tje store, park hirizontally across 3 Blue badge spaces because they are to long to go in the correct way.

Aveline we did not have car seats or large cars. You need the wider space to be able to get the child out of the car seat. I would not want to go back to the days of cars that did not even have rear seatbelts.

From experience at both ends of the spectrum, with a mother in a wheelchair, and a grandchild in a buggy, I don't think there's much comparison. The wheelchair user has much more to negotiate, the wheelchair has to be lifted out of the car, so too might it occupant, much more space is needed, and much more energy as well. Taking two grandchildren to the supermarket is a doddle compared to taking a wheelchair user.

Aveline

Goodness knows how we managed all these years ago before there were P&C parking spaces -but somehow we did!

Yes, we did - but just because we did, does that mean we shouldn't try to make life a bit easier for today's parents? A wee bit of tolerance, compassion and understanding would go a long way in situations like this - from everyone's point of view.