Bugg theft is a real issue for many UK parents. According to recent research from Halifax Home Insurance, there has been a worrying increase in the number of reported buggy thefts as buggies and pushchairs become increasingly expensive and more desirable.
We had to get my parents to help us out with the purchase of a travel system for Lara – it is a big expense. A buggy or travel system can often be the single most expensive item of baby equipment that you buy and with the price of travel systems often pushing through the £500 barrier, it is no surprise that there is a growing black market for second-hand buggies.
I do understand that financial pressures may drive people to buy second-hand buggies from unknown, or disreputable sources but I just can't get into the mind of anyone who would steal a pushchair from a mum or dad. Given the estimated 315,000 buggy thefts per year, people obviously do.
When I am at a park or playground where I have to leave my buggy outside, I often worry about abandoning it because it is tricky to keep an eye on a pushchair and a toddler at the same time. Occasionally, when I visit places such as Legoland where I have no choice but to leave my buggy unattended, I deliberately take my less pricey umbrella pushchair because I am uncomfortable leaving my buggy free for anyone to nab. The Halifax research revealed that at home, or just outside your home was the most common place for your buggy to be nicked, but cafes, shopping centres and car parks also featured highly.
I have been trialling the My Buggy Buddy Lock which is designed to make it harder for thieves to take your buggy. It is a dead simple combination lock that is very fast to apply. I slip it over the main handle bar of my Mothercare Mychoice (it matches the handle wonderfully) or around the frame of my Maclaren. When I have to leave my buggy for even a few moments, I can find somewhere to hook the clip onto, snap it shut and turn the combination. Easy. I've used it on park railings and outside supermarkets but I recently saw someone in a cafe attach their My Buggy Buddy lock to a spare chair while they popped to the baby change – if someone really wanted to steal their Buggaboo then they would have had to take the chair with them!
We also have a My Buggy Buddy Clip which is a similar shape. It is designed as a more sturdy, secure way of attaching bags to your buggy. It won't solve your weight distribution problems but it is certainly a more effective way of clipping shopping to your buggy handles than the little plastic clips you can buy. I didn't find the My Buggy Buddy Clip so much of a lifesaver on my Maclaren because it is actually quite easy to hang bags from the individual handles on this, but with my Mothercare MyChoice which has a single bar across the top, it is a lifesaver. I have always struggled with bags on the handle bar and have tried several brands of plastic clip which all pop off or fall off with the weight of the bag. This buggy clip can't fall off or pop off and I can put it anywhere across the width of the handle bar.
The My Buggy Buggy Lock is available for £8.49 and the My Buggy Buddy Clip for £5.99 from hippychick.com.
Images courtesy of threepipe
We had to get my parents to help us out with the purchase of a travel system for Lara – it is a big expense. A buggy or travel system can often be the single most expensive item of baby equipment that you buy and with the price of travel systems often pushing through the £500 barrier, it is no surprise that there is a growing black market for second-hand buggies.
I do understand that financial pressures may drive people to buy second-hand buggies from unknown, or disreputable sources but I just can't get into the mind of anyone who would steal a pushchair from a mum or dad. Given the estimated 315,000 buggy thefts per year, people obviously do.
When I am at a park or playground where I have to leave my buggy outside, I often worry about abandoning it because it is tricky to keep an eye on a pushchair and a toddler at the same time. Occasionally, when I visit places such as Legoland where I have no choice but to leave my buggy unattended, I deliberately take my less pricey umbrella pushchair because I am uncomfortable leaving my buggy free for anyone to nab. The Halifax research revealed that at home, or just outside your home was the most common place for your buggy to be nicked, but cafes, shopping centres and car parks also featured highly.
I have been trialling the My Buggy Buddy Lock which is designed to make it harder for thieves to take your buggy. It is a dead simple combination lock that is very fast to apply. I slip it over the main handle bar of my Mothercare Mychoice (it matches the handle wonderfully) or around the frame of my Maclaren. When I have to leave my buggy for even a few moments, I can find somewhere to hook the clip onto, snap it shut and turn the combination. Easy. I've used it on park railings and outside supermarkets but I recently saw someone in a cafe attach their My Buggy Buddy lock to a spare chair while they popped to the baby change – if someone really wanted to steal their Buggaboo then they would have had to take the chair with them!
We also have a My Buggy Buddy Clip which is a similar shape. It is designed as a more sturdy, secure way of attaching bags to your buggy. It won't solve your weight distribution problems but it is certainly a more effective way of clipping shopping to your buggy handles than the little plastic clips you can buy. I didn't find the My Buggy Buddy Clip so much of a lifesaver on my Maclaren because it is actually quite easy to hang bags from the individual handles on this, but with my Mothercare MyChoice which has a single bar across the top, it is a lifesaver. I have always struggled with bags on the handle bar and have tried several brands of plastic clip which all pop off or fall off with the weight of the bag. This buggy clip can't fall off or pop off and I can put it anywhere across the width of the handle bar.
The My Buggy Buggy Lock is available for £8.49 and the My Buggy Buddy Clip for £5.99 from hippychick.com.
Images courtesy of threepipe
