[Mel.Bell]

My stroller fits anywhere .. ANY shop ... ANYWHERE & I walk everywhere too as I cannot drive (epilepsy). I take my jogger when I run or go for walks like EXERCISE.

[prue~c]

Yes and disabled people are parents/children too and as always in these sorts of threads the OP is trying to win her argument over why things should be perfect for her and her pram, she has brought the disabled into it, as she knows that what she is whining about is pretty petty otherwise.

I don't think my argument is petty. Having a pram has made me realise how inaccessible Sydney must be for people with disabilities, however I am not disabled, and therefore am not writing from that perspective.

Why shouldn't things we accessible for ALL? Most of my examples, as you have read, refer to stores, departments or facilities designed specifically for people with children, who generally need a pram. It doesn't take a great deal of thought at the planning stage to build in accessibility.

Even retrofitting wider doors, rearranging fixtures, and moving stock out of pathways would make things much easier to get around.

This post has been edited by prue~c: 06/08/2012, 05:52 PM

[Cath42]

What I can't understand is the lack of planning and foresight on the part of retailers and shop owners. It stands to reason that if you own a store, you know a fair bit about your target demographic and make it possible for them to come into the store and browse and shop comfortably. What is the point in opening a children's clothing store in a building where customers have to climb up flights of stairs and can't get their prams in the door? And what is the point in cluttering up entry points with boxes of things on sale? My father took my two younger children in a pram to a chemist last week and could barely get in the door. My father is no interior designer, but he's an expert packer of car boots and it would take him less than half a day to organise a store so that people could actually get in and out the door and have room to move while inside. It's not rocket science.

Retailers are screaming blue murder about the new trend of internet shopping. No doubt the fact that it's often cheaper to buy online is a factor, but many people would prefer to be able to browse in a shop if only it was easier to do. It's much easier to choose sizes and age-appropriate toys correctly if you can see what you're buying.

And I couldn't agree more about the situation with bathrooms in shopping centres. It's not just inconvenient; it's a huge safety issue. In an emergency situation where everybody had to get out of the bathroom/parents area in a hurry, how on Earth would they do it? Prams and wheelchairs, people who are not as mobile as others, all trying to manouver their way in single file through doors and down hallways. It doesn't bear thinking about.

[sleeplessmamma]

I'm an OT and when doing a prac for uni on the accessibility of Perth beaches for people w disabilities the biggest shocker we found were the disabled toilets at North Cottesloe beach. They were completely inaccessible for someone in a wheelchair. Steps leading up from the beach and steps leading down from the street. No ramp! The sad thing is they were the best facilities we'd seen just no one could access!!