Parking for Parents
Teri and Tom's Blog featured a similar "mommy" parking sign up here in Toronto, Canada back in August 2005. Being a Californian expat, I mistakenly thought it was a cultural difference. I had never noticed these signs back home and Canadians do have a reputation for being very polite (think: Dudley Do Good the Royal Canadian Mounted Police character from the cartoon series Bullwinkle).
Personally, I think pregnant women look a little handicapped and perhaps should enjoy a break when it comes to parking. And have you seen how much stuff people with small kids have to haul around? Geez!
On that note, I will agree with AlphaGirl that the letter is the way to go if you feel otherwise. One letter is worth 100 other people who feel the same way.
Or, you could just buy one of those window signs "Baby on Board". . .
Technorati Tag: Parking Issues
5 comments:
funny, but most of us were brought up by moms who lugged all our "stuff"(stroller, bags, etc.) and maybe also that of our siblings across parking lots without complaint or without expecting special treatment. At that time, preganancy and its assorted inconveniences were just sen as part of the natural progression toward parenthood and not the rarified, holy state it is seen as today.
Since theses parking places are not legally enforcable, I don't plan on using any kind of signage on my car when I swing into one of these spots for easy access.
Just the concept of these parking places smacks of yuppie parental entitlement. Thoses were my own moms's words, not mine. =)
AlphaGirl, you're Mom sounds way cool.
Special parking spots for mothers with young children and for disabled people are very common in England, particularly in supermarkets (Shopping malls in North America). I don't mind the disabled parking spots at all. I regard the mother and baby parking as an irritant, but don't see them disappearing anytime soon. The most irritating thing of course is spotting a "space" from afar during a busy shopping time, only to drive up and be greeted by an empty parking spot with a large picture of a baby pram/buggy on the ground.
M&B parking spaces are, of course, strategically located very close to the supermarket entrances, (the ones you would take if only you could get one) and if you illegally park in them, your car can be ticketed, so you will have to pay a fine, and sometimes even towed away, to be recovered at your own cost and inconvenience. Since the mothers are usually quite vocal in complaining to the store, parking in them often simply isn't worth the hassle.
Bummer! Fortunately, they are not legally enforcable here in So. Cal..of Course, it depends on the shop owners...on the other hand, the disabled spots are legally enforcable, which is no problem with me at all...after all, those folks didn't "sign on " to be disabled, unlike preganant women.
One of my friends has end-stage Lupus and can't walk without assistance, so she has a placard for disabled parking...those spots are pretty rare, so whoever is driving her will have to circle several times until a spot opens up. The shop keepers need to ditch the Mommy spot and open more spots for the people who truly need close-to-the-store access..
To Teri,
Yep, my mom is pretty cool when it comes to stuff like that..I told her about the Mommy entitlements going on and she said "Oh, for God's sake...it's not like they invented pregnancy and childbirth..it's been going on for eons..they need to get over it!" Gotta love it!
AG - Totally agree, and wish they would ditch the M&B parking spots for people more deserving and who really need them. Not holding my breath though - the shops worry about all the pregnant customers they are going to lose if they scrap the spots, and since women do the bulk of the household shopping....
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