Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Childhood Obesity Foundation;
Obesity rates in children have almost tripled in the last 25 years. Approximately 26% of Canadian children ages 2-17 years old are currently overweight or obese.
Saskatoon Wal-Mart Parking Lot;
The graphic of a stroller is there on the sign for a reason. Parents with children who are old enough to walk, should be ensuring that they are doing precisely that! It wouldn’t hurt the parents either. I often wonder how much fuel is wasted by lazy people cruising endlessly through parking lots looking for a closer parking spot.
Sorry Kate, that’s a stretch. Those parking spots are for parents with babies or little kids in strollers. We would park in those spot when we had three kids under three. Now that all three kids can walk on their own we park else where.
Usually the wording for those signs are for parents with little children. I guess the stroller on the sign is supposed to mean little children.
Call me an A-Hole but I park in those spots all the time. There is no by-law requiring special spots for parents with little tots. If you can take the kid shopping, then it’s your responsibility to carry the kid or make them walk.
What’s next? Special parking privileges for Lesbians and the transgendered?
Obesity is a sign of stupidity as I sees it. Smart people don’t let themselves or their kids become obese.
This isn’t health issue it’s a stupidity issue. You can legislate against vending machine companies, but you cannot legislate against stupidity.
However, the other stupid people (the ban it folks) haven’t figured out that the obese kids are just smart enough to know where the nearest convenience store with all it’s delights is located.
There is this gigantic parking lot for IKEA in Calgary, twice as large as the would be green propaganda machine.
It is interesting to observe, as Howie above said, people drive around endlessly looking to grab the next available space nearest to the entrance.
It is also interesting to observe people just sitting in their vehicles in the middle of the driveway close to the entrance waiting for spot. You can also pretty safely predict what ethnicity is the occupant of the sitting vehicle.
Anyway, the behaviour of people looking for parking is many times odd. You can see the heaviest driving around, getting hang on mirror signs “handicapped” their only excuse for handicap being the weight.
Many times one is thinking, a good walk even a short would do them good.
This nails one of my pet peeves. People circling around looking for a closer parking spot. Heaven forbid they should walk that extra 50-100 yards!!!
Worse then that, morons that park their vehicle in No Parking Fire Zones while they run in and out. Inconsiderate boors one and all.
We’ve noticed in our hometown that its the cars parked out in the farther areas of the lot that get broken into and not the ones closer up to the store.
I wonder why?
Up until recent years, I worked in a place in Toronto that caters to kids, and I honestly never saw evidence of rampant obesity. All the talk about this these days reminds me of “Participaction” that the government foisted on us back in the ’70s on the basis that, supposedly, the average 25 year old Canadian was in no better shape than a 65 year old Swede.
Well, about 20 years after the fact a freedom of information request uncovered government documents that showed beyond all doubt that the government just made it all up as a way of justifying the creation of a new government department, the spending of millions more of our tax dollars and providing a more jobs for friends and relatives of politicians and other hangers on.
Lev- Re-Ikea parking lot, there are spots reserved for “Prius parking only”.
With the amount of snow we’ve had, I sympathize with anyone pushing a stroller. I had twins, and pushing that big double stroller was a bit tough. I always parked a little distance from the busy spots, though. I always found the people who tried to squeeze in close to the doorway were the most likely to park too close, and try to squeeze past a stroller while you’re loading shopping bags. People who park farther from the door seemed to be more polite.
My question is, what recourse does the parking lot owner have, if they find someone parked in one of these spots, who doesn’t qualify? I doubt there’s a bylaw covering anything, other than “handicapped” parking. Would Wal-Mart have the authority to have a car towed? Somehow, I think it’s just a goodwill gesture.
Here in Ontaxio, our Walfarts have the “Expectant mother” signs for parking…I guess these new “customer with child” signs will come soon too followed by “Customer with unruly teenager” I’m sure.
I would like to see some “Husband waiting for shopaholic wife” signs too
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Speaking of obesity, yesterday on a french political talk show on the Radio Canada they were all asking why, after all government effort to promote exercise and healthy eating habits, we are still seeing obesity going up?…
D’uh! I told myself…Universal health care…The same reason why per capita, Canucks smoke more than Americans.
When you have to pay for your own health insurance it makes your brain compute a bit more.
I am on my own mission to get a ‘big honkin’ SUV spot, for every ‘small car’ spot. Until then, I am parking right in the middle of two ‘small car’ spots.
Abe wrote:
Obesity is a sign of stupidity as I sees it.
I feel so stupid now for having hypothyroidism. Damn, but that one was stupid lifestyle decision. I knew I should have picked smoking.
I always find it interesting when I refer to people who drink and smoke as ditchpigs, and people get all indignant. That’s just beyond the pale, it seems. But it’s always OK to say the same about fatties.
“This nails one of my pet peeves. People circling around looking for a closer parking spot. Heaven forbid they should walk that extra 50-100 yards!!!”
Whatever man! I’ve rather pet your peeve that listen to my wife complain about not getting a primo spot. Anyways, we call it “Parking War” and I’m a four star general! I regularly get the best spot I can hope for and I always say to my wife “You don’t get a spot like this everyday” (George Castanza); unless you’re me!
Atric
You are very very bad!(extended finger wag)
Lickmuffin: statistically, fat people are stupider, are less personally responsible, and make bad choices.
9 out of 10, anyways.
Aren’t those signs are a good example of free market at its finest? After all, Walmart’s target demographic is not the child-free, fair trade coffee drinkers so anything that makes shopping easier for moms and kids is good business. Families, in return, spend lots and lots of money in their store. Besides, car-smashed toddlers in the parking lot is really bad PR and roping a mob of little kids into a nice orderly line for the hike across the parking lot is frowned upon by meddling bystanders.
As to the obesity “epidemic”, the only gluttonous, uncontrolled growth to really worry about is the size of governments. I’d love to see PSA announcements concerning the worrying amount of dead weight that all taxpayers are forced to lug around.
Didn ‘t some socialist/leftoid policy group release a “study” yesterday that claimed 30% of Canadian children were starving?
Maybe just blend the fatties with the starving ones and call it a draw.
What a non-post about nothing!
You’ve outdone yourself in about 2 year desperate search for relevance, Kate. What’s caused that downward spiral from a greatest Canadian blog to a dump site for yesterday’s Drudge links?
Childhood obesity is NOT from taking parking spots close to the frickin mall. It is from lazy parents that anesthetize their children with food rather then getting off their duffs and actually interacting or DOING things with them.
Get lost kid ya bug me now take this muffin and bowl of ice cream and go sit in front of the T.V., Computer, Ipod and let me alone so I can anesthetize my self by sittting in front of my T.V., Computer or Ipod.
Lickmuffin, perhaps you have that horrid glandular thingy that somehow turns an ounce of donut into a pound of belly fat … , but most lardos are just lazy, dumb gluttons who are too stupid to know what’s causing the lard. Or too stupid to realize that they can easily (exercise and diet) and cheaply prevent the lard and live a longer happier life where they may even get some sex along the way.
As for lardo children, their parents bear the stupidity mantle until the kid is old enough to make his or her own stupid decisions.
You must be aware that most of the happenings in one’s life … whether good or bad, are a result of choices WE make for ourselves.
There are some exceptions, of course and that is why we have insane asylums, hospitals and jails … whatever is required.
SNAP!
I forgot to caveat the usual, “accept in cases where there is a medical issue at play.”
@coach: when you park at a store you’re on private property, so they reasonably could declare you persona non grata and have you charged with trespassing if you don’t leave the premises. Some stores have arrangements with local municipalities whereby there’s a bylaw such that you can be ticketed by bylaw or poarking enforcement officers, but I consider that pretty obvious crony capitalism on the small scale.
Right on, Kate. I don’t know how I managed to raise 4 children before these stupid parking spots existed. oh wait, I WALKED EVERYWHERE with them.
My ex-wife had hypothyroidism. She was tiny, because she just didn’t eat very much what with the low metabolism and the thyroid replacement medication.
LC Bennett has the right of it.
“With child?” The space is assuredly for women who are enceinte, n’est-ce pas?
Down east here in Halifax the local Home Despot has as many parking spots for preggers and little kids as they do for handicap. Which begs the question: Just how many pregnant women come in for a dozen sheets of drywall and a case of roofing nails?
As for by-law enforcement, do those ticket writers carry pregnancy kits to verify the misses is in the family way before she can park?
Ever notice that it is almost impossible to get a parking spot near a recreation centre while there is no shortage of spots near the outer edges? Especially amusing is watching somebody circle the lot waiting for a closer spot so s/he doesn’t have to walk as far to “exercise”.
I have seldom been patient enough to circle the lot at the supermarket or mall and just picked the first convenient parking spot on the outer edge of the parked cars. This used to annoy wife and kids but now the kids are grown and gone and I drop the wife off at the door before I drive out to the edges where it is easier to park the dually and tell her the general direction it will be to find me reading.
I parked in one of those spots once. I couldn’t find any spots without having to drive to another part of the mall. They were all open so I took one. While getting out some guy leaving the parking lot thought it was his duty to let me know that I was parked in one of those spots.
I just smiled and said “that’s nice”. And walked away.
Kids are not a handicap. If you think that they are, and qualify you for special privileges other than the kids menu at restaurants. Then you should probably not have them.
Parts of AZ has this along with the disabled parking along with fuel efficient car parking. Soon we will have cave dwellers parking,liberal parking, I worship Gaia parking, lets get a grip. Parking at the far end of the lot and walking usually means less dents. When some fat bastard swings their doors open to extract their 2 plus air-line seat fat ass past, dents happen. Walk a little folks.
“My question is, what recourse does the parking lot owner have, if they find someone parked in one of these spots, who doesn’t qualify? I doubt there’s a bylaw covering anything, other than “handicapped” parking. Would Wal-Mart have the authority to have a car towed? Somehow, I think it’s just a goodwill gesture.”
~coach
I know a guy who owns a company which maintains a number of mall parking lots in Calgary.
Unless a by-law is breached, by-law officers will not issue a ticket.
As to tresspassing laws, unless an official from the mall personally tells a person that they must leave and are tresspassing, that person cannot be charged with tresspassing on private property.
The police simply will not make the effort for a mall lot.
Even if a car is abandoned in a parking lot, the car will not be towed until it has sat there for a period of one month after it has been reported to police.
Here in Ontario, some of the state-owned liquor stores have spots for pregnant women. That kind of
throws cold water on the claim that pregnant women shouldn’t drink. I guess the ministry that is responsible doesn’t talk to the ministry of health.
Excuse moi s’il vous plaît but I think Kate means “The parents should be parents.” It’s not about where the car should be parked.
The Childhood Obesity Foundation says, “Obesity prevention is a community responsibility” to which one says, “it will be a problem forever, then.”
Grey Lady says, “It is from lazy parents that anesthetize their children with food rather then getting off their duffs and actually interacting or DOING things with them” with which I partially disagree (respectfully). Parents usually are overprotective of children. Even making allowances for decreased fertility one doesn’t often see children playing with each other now, or by themselves. I would say parents are fearful; though given the usual immaturity, “‘fraidy cats” would be more expressive.
“Hier les enfants dansaient”; but no more.
Oh but atric just goggle safe communities canada. You’ll see they link to a global study on how to meet the criteria for a safe community designation and you’ll also notice most of the communities signed on already are from Ontario. Their goal to eliminate pain and suffering.
One way or another.
I have been hypothyroid, and on thyroid medication, since the age of nine. Every one of these extra pounds I carry is because of poor eating choices in middle age. In Canada, there is no excuse for uncontrolled hypothyroidism… JMHO.
The original point was that kids are fatter, and since then it has devolved into a rant that the people with toddlers get to park closer than everybody else.
Does anybody else seem to find that hilarious? Kids should walk further, and then I can park closer!
Dur.
Liberals don’t even use parking spots they just drive right up to the front door and hop out.
Then little kids and old people get hit when they “dart out between cars”.
When you question the rogue parking guy right in front of the store it’s always the same reply – “I’m just going in for a second”
I always answer – “Yeah, same as everybody else”
Usually able bodied young males.
John Lewis- yes and….don’t forget…..
It takes a village to raise a child.
When I was a kid,
-In the summer, I would take off on my bike after eating 3~4 bowls of sugary cereal…sometimes I would come back for lunch but not always…Sometimes I would eat at a buddy’s or just forget to eat if I was having too much fun like building a fort in the woods or blowing up grasshoppers with fire crackers…I’d be home for supper, starving…then take off to see the buddies again before crashing in my tent that was popped up in the backyard…No mom did not check were I was or if I had enough blankets in the tent.
-In the winter, our snow clothes often did not have enough time to dry beside the furnace so that meant…I had to wear wet clothes to go back out: Often ordered by mom.
-When company was visiting and us kids were ‘jumping in’ or ‘interrupting’ adult conversation it was a guaranteed: “You kids go play outside and leave the adults alone” or if it was pouring rain: “You kids go down in the basement (Unfinished) and go nuts”
-When you did not like what was served at a meal you were allowed not to eat…Period…because you were “simply not hungry enough to eat”.
That was about 45 years ago…How things have changed today with spoiled “designer trophy kids”.
“There was a guy down in Florida who said that the age of 53 years old, he was in good enough physical condition to withstand the wind, rain and hail of a force-3 hurricane. Now, let me explain somethin’ to ya: it isn’t that the wind is blowin’, it’s what the wind is blowin’. If you get hit by a Volvo, it doesn’t matter how many sit-ups you did that morning. If you have a “Yield” sign in your spleen, joggin’ don’t really come into play.” Ron White – Blue Collar Comedy
Likewise, the reserved parking signs are not there because of the parking lot alone but what is in the parking lot – cars with distracted and hurried drivers that do not always notice small children and less-than-agile pregnant women. Safety, not laziness, is the primary motivation to put up reserved parking spaces. It the same reason why courteous husbands drop their wife and children off at the door. Exercise and childhood obesity rates do not really come into play in the WalMart parking lot. WalMart is simply responding to the needs of its customers (as far as I know this is not a government regulation)
The real problem is that architects don’t know how to design parking lots. If there’s no walkway to safely channel pedestrians to the store entrance then you get accidents. Maybe in city areas where space is at a premium that’s acceptable, but for most big box stores I expect a goddamned monorail to take me from my car to the store.
Sorry SDA, but i did extensive research on this isisue for a Produce deasign and the Stats-can number were not there.
The Child-obesity issue is like the Global-warming scam and the fossil-fuel Oil from dead Dino’s.
The U.N. had changed the definition of a Child
from the old 12 years old to the new under 19 years old. So the child obesity I found was the teens now counted and they were the 15-17 group with a 8% increase in weight.
But the worse group for weight gain was the 74-76 age group, why???, because the Liberals allowed people to bring in their grandparents from overseas that were well fed compared to canadian born Seniors.
Where could I see your Stats for 12 and under kids for obesity because the chart I saw had little change over the last 40 year for both girls and boy. Both genders showed the same increases in height and some weight gain for being healtier.
Yesterday i saw a report that 30% of American adult were obese by the BMI standards, but body-builders are deemed Obese because a male from 5′- 10″ to 6′-6″ can weigh from 220 Lbs to 270 Lbs of pure muscle but the scale assumes they are all Michael Moore’s pounding back the cheeseburgers
and fried chicken. Even the female body builders can weigh up to 140-155 lbs and be calls obese.
I’m 5-9″ but have dense bones and weight 230 lbs but my Doctor does not see me as obese.I do not look fat or wear huge pants,my waist is about 37-38″ and this too hides my weight.
Again, I’d like to see the Stats from Doctors and not Charities that need to create a non-problem to not solve it and thus stay employed at the Public trough.
One comment that stood out when I read it has me fuming. I’m guessing the author has never had to deal with choices imposed by illness.
“Obesity is a sign of stupidity as I sees it.”
My wife is disabled. Sero negative rheumatoid arthritis. She has a permit for handi-capped parking. She is fat. Didn’t start out that way, but she is fat. Does that make her stupid? Or maybe, just maybe… the drug companies are correct when they state that ‘one of the side effects of this medication may be weight gain’.
So, her choice is pretty simple. Take drugs that make you gain weight, or, scream in pain when someone tries to dress you because they moved one of your joints?
Let’s see, do I want to take a combination of drugs (that make me gain weight) in order to have an almost normal life? Or do I want to be thin even though it means living in a hospital spaced out on injected pain meds?
Yup, real stupid, eh!
There, that’s it’s I’m a body builder. Beer is my training aid!
The problem today is that any neighbour is more than happy to call CAS if you are not supervising your children to their liking. That means that parents are afraid to let their kids go out and have some good old fashioned fun. One is considered a terrible parent if they even let their 8 year old walk unaccompanied 3 houses to visit a friend in the middle of the day. I would argue that many parents want to give their children more independence but feel their cannot or they will be labeled as delinquent parents.
Also, keep in mind that even though our kids are statistically safer than ever before, the media makes it sound like there is an kidnapper and a murderer at every corner just waiting to murder our kids.
Not meant for me!! I’m white, male, over 50 and I just go there to spend money. I brake for shopping carts.
Want exercise? Buy a monster pickup and park it out where the snow from the shopping centre is piled.
I am on my own mission to get a ‘big honkin’ SUV spot, for every ‘small car’ spot. Until then, I am parking right in the middle of two ‘small car’ spots.
End quote:———-
I don’t have much choice, the F250 doesn’t fit in one of those wee car spots. I always park as far away from the entrance as I can, especially on pension check day when all those ole dollies are trying to park their Lincon Town Cars unsuccessfully of course.
Abe is demonstrating his usual compassion to-day. Reminds of the old guys in the balcony on the Muppet show. Geez Abe how stupid is a guy with a double science degree that is overweight AND smokes and retires at 56?
Brute,
Relax … There are always exceptions, your wife is one of them. You know what a generalization is … Again, relax .. no one is out to get you or your wife. So turn off the ‘fuming’ man … that’s just silly … bad for the heart … not smart.