No, I don’t mean parking ON the sidewalk… that’s just silly.  I mean parking NEAR the sidewalk and for good reason.  Two young children getting out of the car in a crowded parking lot or on a busy street can be a very scary thing indeed. (to the mom… the children usually don’t care at all)  Sidewalk parking is my attempt at safety.  Most places have at least a few spots in front of the sidewalk.  Sometimes these parking spaces are not obvious.  They may be far from the door or even around the corner from your destination.  To me it doesn’t matter.  I park, remind the children to “go to the sidewalk”, then it’s a free-for all to see who can get there first.  Okay, not really.  Sister gets out and waits on the sidewalk while I help Brother.  Once we are all together again I let them run ahead to a specified point (you can go to the lightpole, or that red line, or the second bush or the door with the blue letters).  Not only do I not have to worry about them running out into the street; they get to release some extra energy before we enter a store.  This is especially helpful on days with many errands.  Sometimes it takes a little longer but overall there is less stress and that works for me.