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Home / Lifestyle

Mum gets caught in the middle of parking space note war

By Rhian Deutrom
news.com.au·
20 Jun, 2019 06:14 AM5 mins to read

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An innocent mum got caught in the crossfires of an angry note exchange between two other mums. Photo / Facebook

An innocent mum got caught in the crossfires of an angry note exchange between two other mums. Photo / Facebook

A Brisbane mum was "caught in the crossfires" of a vicious war between two strangers over a parking space this month.

And their weapons of choice? A scrap of paper and a ballpoint pen, of course.

The north Brisbane mum shared her bizarre experience on a mother's only Facebook group earlier this month, explaining her peculiar trip to a local shopping centre in Chermside, news.com.au reports.

"My daughter and I got caught in the crossfire of the mummy wars today," the woman explained.

"We were at Chermside and I parked in one of two 'Parents with Prams' car parks."

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After completing her shop, the mother and daughter returned to the shopping centre carpark, where they found a double-sided note, slapped against their car windscreen.

"I didn't write, nor was I the target, of the original note," she explained.

But it seemed the recipient of the first attack was convinced she had written to them, so this poor woman was lumped with a pretty brutal response that sparked a heated discussion among the group's members.

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THE FIRST ATTACK

Earlier that day, a furious mother took it upon herself to write a rage-filled note in blue ink and littered with spelling mistakes to the unidentified person who parked in a "pram park", in which she demanded they "be more mindful" — followed by a smiley face.

"Thought I would right (sic) you a little note so maybe next time you park in a 'pram park' you may think twice," the note said.

The author alleged the recipient had pulled her car into the pram-only parking space, just before she could nab it.

" … and then proceeded to get out, WITHOUT CHILDREN, and you have NO CHILD SEATS," she penned.

"I am a mother of 2 whom rely's (sic) on those parks as I have a double pram and a child with special needs," she scribbled.

"You(r) inconsideration was appalling to other mothers and basic human decency."

The angry note exchange has caused a stir on social media. Photo / Facebook
The angry note exchange has caused a stir on social media. Photo / Facebook

She concluded the rant by encouraging the woman to "please think before you take another one" of the marked parking spaces.

THE REBUTTAL

But if you thought that was brutal, wait for this response.

The recipient of the note definitely wasn't taking the criticism lying down, and pulled out a black pen to scrawl a message back to her aggressor.

"If you wrote this note, you should know I DO have a car seat and I was picking up my grandchild, you self-righteous TW*T," the note said.

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The unfortunate mum who was caught in the middle of the warring parties told the Facebook group that people should never make unfounded assumptions about others, no matter what the situation looks like.

"Whether they're entitled to a car space or not, or whether they have left you a passive aggressive note," she wrote.

"Otherwise you all end up looking like tw*ts. Especially when it gets posted by some tw*t to Facebook!"

THE RESPONSE

Her post received a lot of attention with stacks of mothers weighing in on the issue.

One woman jokingly referred to the note exchange as the "Sisterhood of the travelling passive aggressive notes".

The majority of respondents shared their sympathies to the "poor" mum who was caught in the middle of the handwritten conflict.

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"Oh my goodness. Lucky your car wasn't keyed!" one mum said.

The unlucky mother in question responded, saying: "Who knew car parks could cause so much rage!"

"Lucky my car is so dirty, they probably thought keying it would make no difference," she joked.

Many mums couldn't help but point to the original author's below par spelling and grammar.

One woman reasoned the author "obviously couldn't contain the rage" while she penned the note.

Another suggested if you decide to send someone an angry note about a parking space, the least you could do is "check your grammar first".

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"That's all I could see, the grammar," another mum agreed.

The recipient's response was short, sharp and brutal. Photo / Facebook
The recipient's response was short, sharp and brutal. Photo / Facebook

Another mum pointed to the rebuttal note, claiming at least it was "no-nonsense, and outright rude".

A PRIVILEGE, NOT A LAW

Many people argued that — unlike disabled parking spaces — Parents with Pram parks weren't enforce "by law".

Instead, they're simply allocated close to a shopping centre entrance as a courtesy to busy parents.

"They are a courtesy, people need to get off the high horse and worry about more important things," one woman wrote.

Another wrote: "Seriously the carry-on over these parks is ridiculous … Grown ass adults arguing over parents with prams parking spots."

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PRAM PARKS ARE A 'GOD SEND'

But some members could see where the original author was coming from, reasoning it was a difficult feat to navigate a carpark with a carload of kids and prams.

"I have a double pram and it is sooo hard when people who don't have children park in these car parks," one mum wrote.

Another woman claimed the pram parks were a "God send".

"I just shake my head when I see people without prams or car seats park in them, but also don't mind parking further away," she wrote.

A third said she had seen people with no children or prams park in these allocated spots many times before.

"What frustrates me even more is parents taking these parking spots that have children who are at walking age," she said.

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"Those with prams need it more, especially us mums of multiples."

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