Securing my son's pushchair in a flat?

wiggywoo9

We are on the 2nd floor and it's a block of maisonettes so roughly 4 on each level (we are top floor). I accidentally bought a gas cooker, left it in communal entrance for 2 days and it was gone (I didn't need it anyway- I'm electric!) so based on this, I'm concerned about leaving my son's pushchair down stairs. You need a key to open the communal door but it can easily be propped open. I'm new and don't know the neighbors, but from my very prim view, I don't trust them very much.

I'm at uni 3 days a week so need to get up for a 6am bus, so ideally I need the pushchair ready to go. I could bring it up every day but then I need to get up 30 mins earlier, and I already wake up at 5am for 9am uni start! (I commute btw). Any suggestions for securing the pushchair?

Oh, and it's not a cheap one and doesn't look it- it's a petite star zia in dogtooth which looks posh-ish (although I paid under 100!). I do need it as I commute 38 miles to uni, my son's only 20 months and won't walk all the time, plus have folders, books, changing bag, etc. I was going to get a bike lock and chain it to the communal stairs?

peachyprice

A good quality bike lock and alarm should do the trick.

lolly_896

How horrible somebody took the gas cooker, irrelevant weather you needed it or not!

Had a quick google and theres a few specific locks http://www.pushchairtrader.co.uk/en/site-search/?q=lock&action=Go

Although doesn't the Zia fold up pretty small? Wouldnt it be better for peace of mind to fold it and take it up with you?

Good Luck in your new home WW

chocdonuty

Check with your landlord first, some do not allow items in the stairwells in case of blocking fire escapes ect.
The gas cooker disappearing may be because other people assumed it had been left by the previous tenant and not known to ask, still could have been nicked though!
I also live in a flat on the 2nd floor and bikes/pushchairs ect are not allowed in the stairwell although tney do turn a blind eye to leaving things under the bottom stairs where it doesnt cause a nuisance and in no-ones way.
What do others do around there?

wiggywoo9

It's housing association so no issue with landlords. I have heard a child crying next door and suddenly getting worse then quiet, but this was as I was getting stuff moved and although alarming, there's no pushchairs etc anywhere.
The thing about the cooker was that I still have two carriers with hobs/grills in them! It did cost me a wasted £40 too, but in fairness, I don't fully move in til Sat so I'm not actually there to keep any eye on it anyway. I was going to resell it on Gumtree! Silly me, didn't realise mine was totally electric, no gas, til I checked.
I did leave an old mattress outside my flat last time I was there sO I'm gonna see if that's gone too. I do move in very soon but just playing there's no issues before I'm in there! My worse fear is coming in to the flat to find it empty, just as I move in! (I've got a few days left on current place so was moving stuff occasuionally)

Ich_2

It's housing association so no issue with landlords

The housing association is the landlord!

dizziblonde

I have to say I'd be incredibly annoyed if someone had parked a pushchair in the shared lobby and chained it up so you couldn't even move it if it was annoying you! Plus the fire evacuation risk factor and flat owners not wanting to set a precedent where then you end up with another buggy, and a bike, and another buggy all demanding space to be parked - I can't see it going down well with the block owners or other residents on a long term basis.

Having said that - there are tonnes of pushchair locks out there - I just bought one off Amazon which isn't the thickest wire in the world - but for what I want it for, as a quick deterrent when I have the pushchair locked up in buggy park areas like at our doctors or childrens centre it'll do the job (especially with £600+ of double buggy there). Think I put "buggy lock" into Amazon or something like that - or Kiddicare sell a lot.

fluffnutter

As others have said, provided the pushchair's not obstructing anything, a lock should do the trick.

But one thing struck me as a bit 'really?'.... why should having the pushchair upstairs mean you have to get up a whole half an hour earlier than normal? Exaggerating? As far as I can tell... take pushchair downstairs, walk back upstairs, get son, take son downstairs (the latter two actions you'd have to have done anyway). How does that take half an hour??

And why was it no big deal to have your cooker nicked? Even if you couldn't use it, you still paid for it I assume. Your post freaked me out. Sorry.

Nicki

Baby in sling, whilst you carry pushchair downstairs, then moved into pushchair at ground level.

I know you say you haven't met your neighbours yet but you've got off to a really bad start with them by dumping an old cooker in the communal parts before you even moved in. That's beyond antisocial behaviour. Your only rights in communal areas is to walk through them, not to store stuff in them. You effectively fly tipped outside the front door of 4 of your neighbours. I'd be apologising to them when I moved in if I were you and definitely not considering compounding your thoughtlessness by leaving a pushchair there every evening

Dunroamin

Nicki wrote: »

Baby in sling, whilst you carry pushchair downstairs, then moved into pushchair at ground level.

I know you say you haven't met your neighbours yet but you've got off to a really bad start with them by dumping an old cooker in the communal parts before you even moved in. That's beyond antisocial behaviour. Your only rights in communal areas is to walk through them, not to store stuff in them. You effectively fly tipped outside the front door of 4 of your neighbours. I'd be apologising to them when I moved in if I were you and definitely not considering compounding your thoughtlessness by leaving a pushchair there every evening

Don't forget the old mattress she's left outside the flat!

fluffnutter

lolly_896 wrote: »

How horrible somebody took the gas cooker, irrelevant weather you needed it or not!

On the contrary, I think the OP is happy someone did her a favour... She seems quite fond of fly-tipping generally...

wiggywoo9 wrote: »

I did leave an old mattress outside my flat last time I was there ...