Space in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs is difficult to come by, but a Coogee mother was shocked when she discovered her baby’s pram had been deliberately damaged after it was left in the stairwell.
It was Saturday night and Kalyn New’s husband Travis decided to leave the $900 pram under the stairwell because the back of the car was full.
Travis was out for four hours and, upon returning around midnight, found the pram had been moved to the apartment building’s outside area, covered in white paint.
He woke Kalyn to show her what he’d discovered.
"I was still kind of half-asleep and really shocked and trying to piece it all together," the 31-year-old told the Daily Mail. "Then I was really disgusted."
"I would've felt better if someone had stolen it all together," she continued. "That's a different kind of person who steals a pram, rather than leaves it for you to find with paint all over it."
Lock the door, leave your kids with strangers, and other lessons for working parents. Post continues below.
Kalyn said they don't often store the pram under the stairs, and she is especially concerned because an access key is needed to enter the building's stairwell.
"We don't store the pram there all the time, just from time to time for a few hours here and there," she said. "Knowing it's a person who may live in our complex is really disturbing."
The parents have a 10-month-old baby and believe the person responsible might be a neighbour who has left angry notes around the complex in the past.
"He's been aggressive about mundane, silly things," Kalyn said. "People not breaking down cardboard boxes in the recycle area, cigarette butts in the grassy area, orange peels in the garden bed."
Is it time to stop making the kids' lunches? Post continues below.
Kalyn told the Daily Mail the pram had been moved twice from under the stairs in the last six months. No note had been left, and the pram was placed in another unit's parking spot.
"Little did I know those two times were warnings," she said. "And this was the final straw."
Do you think it's acceptable to leave a pram in the stairwell?
Top Comments
I've had three children, and had to use public transport - my pram back then was a Steelcraft Regal - it weighed 22kG without a baby in it - I know this because it would've taken my entire luggage allowance to take it on a commercial plane. (Back then, there was no free allowance for baby needs). It also had a toddler seat added on, so at any time there was an older child as well as the baby. Buses then had stairs to get in, too, no lowering the bus or a ramp. I just sucked it up and dragged that pram onto buses, pushed it up hills etc. What I don't understand, in this day and age, is why young mothers think they are more entitled than others, or somehow "special" for doing something women have done since the beginning of time - give birth! Yes, it's special to them, and to their families, but a couple of years ago I saw a mother with one of those three-wheeled "jogger" prams, on a bus with no wheelchair spaces, insist that a disabled old lady move so she could fit her pram in the space where said disabled old lady was sitting! It's not all about you!
THANK YOU. You've just restored some faith that not all mothers live in a bubble of self important entitlement. I was beginning to lose hope.
Understandable situation from the parents perspective but they're likely in breach of the common property regulations of their complex. Besides, parking any personal property in a stairwell is also likely a breach of evacuation protocols for the complex. Parents also need to consider how they would feel if other residents parked bikes etc in the stair well, even just for a few hours. There's a good reason why multi occupancy properties have these rules and places quickly turn nasty if the rules aren't respected by all. Having said this, still doesn't excuse the conduct of the perpetrator.