To lock DD's scooter at school?

[Eurydice84]

DS (5yo) asked for one of those Micro scooters with light-up wheels for Xmas. It was her main Xmas present and an expensive purchase (£140), but it should hopefully last her for many years. AIBU to lock the scooter at the school gates? Most kids just leave them unsecured but this is a brand new expensive one and DD would be so upset if it goes missing - she's been wanting one for ages.

Can’t you take it home?

Possible but a bit of a faff as it would mean taking it back for pick-up. We walk to school - 15 min from our house.

For £140 I’d put up with the faff.

Unreasonable to lock it at the school gates, that's not an appropriate place for it.

Totally reasonable to lock it up in a bike rack. I always locked Dd's up despite everyone else just leaving theirs unlocked, although most weren't micro scooters and we're much cheaper ones.

Just take it home. Most scooters at my DC’s school are being taken home.

Put it with the bikes?

My dc's had locks and locked their mini micros to the bike racks.

Dd has a frog bike (£200 second hand) and you bet I lock it up! Think most bikes and scooters aren't locked up but don't really pay attention and certainly no one has ever paid attention to me locking up DD's bike.
Why wouldn't you? What are the cons?

Lock it up at the bike rack, ppl won’t notice, they are more preoccupied with their own lives. And even if they did make a comment, say something along the lines of “I’ve heard there’s been a few thefts recently” They will think you are sensible.

The best thing to do is to make sure that somewhere you have written your DD's name and your phone number on the scooter (to stop someone accidentally taking yours). I used to have it written underneath as well as stickers and something that marked it from others on the handle . If you feel it is at risk of been taken lock it as well

Yes mine both have Mini micro scooters and frog bikes which we use for school. I've always locked them in the bike racks. More than anything it stops people accidentally picking up the wrong scooter as there are several the same and we do get the odd text from school asking if someone has picked the wrong one up by mistake.

I think it depends on the school. We have a similar bike and don't lock it but it's a very small school and generally people know whose bike is whose. The school is obviously locked during the day so it's only at drop off/collection that it could be pinched and I think it would be pretty easy to track down the culprit if that happened. I imagine a scooter is perhaps easier to steal though.

I walk ten minutes on the school run and always take the scooter home with me

Why would it be unreasonable? Isn’t this a bit like asking if it’d be ok to lock your front door?

It's entirely reasonable to lock the scooter in whichever spot pupil bikes/scooters are supposed to be stored during school (if that spot is the gate at your DC's school then yes, lock it at the gate). If no one else is using a lock then I would ask a staff member involved in drop offs beforehand just in case there's an issue.

Of course locks aren't theft-proof and the school won't be responsible if something does happen, but it will reduce the odds.

If you ask permission from the school fine

We've got the same issue. DC has just got a 'new' second hand Frog and I don't know what to do

There's a bike rack and area where scooters get left, which is behind the locked school gates during the day, but no one ever locks their bikes to the rack.

I don't want to seem like the only paranoid person, but if it's not locked it won't be insured. So I think that's my answer.

Further DC normally does after school, so we aren't around when the hoards are there at 3pm.

Several bikes/scooters are locked to the bike racks at our school. My son’s wasn’t locked and went awol but there was a similar one left so we figured it was a case of mistaken identity. It was, and easily solved the following morning.

Definitely lock it to the bike rack (or take it home), unless you can afford to lose £140 (and spend £140 on a replacement to alleviate her inevitable upset).

I'd also strongly recommend anyone reading this locks their child's bike as well. Not worth the risk (and the hassle of dealing with it disappearing)

We have a separate area for bikes and scooters next to the front entrance. It's locked during the day but everyone still locks their bikes and scooters within it. It's unlikely that it would be stolen since our campus is in the middle of the woods and the only random people coming by would be elderly hiking groups but it's just a normal thing to do round here anyway. I used to take DS's scooter into my classroom with me (I work at the school) because it was foldable. He's got a new Woom 5 now, though, and that will definitely be locked.

We don't lock bikes as they're locked jn the school grounds but we carry scooters home

Yes I’d lock it

A few years ago we bought DS a nice scooter for his birthday. He scooted to school the next day, and some little bastard took his scooter. 1st day
We did find out who it was but never got it back and DS was devastated. We replaced it and locked it in the bike rack from that day on

Can you even lock a microscooter? There's nothing for the lock to loop through, is there?

Just carry it home and then back at pick up time. The proper micro scooters are really light and easy to carry so it's no faff. Hold it at the bottom of the stem, so the front wheel is at the top and it won't flap around and hit your ankles (speaks from experience and bashed ankles).

Surely the bastard wasn't so little - the real bastard would be the parent picking up the child who has suddenly acquired a scooter!

Terrible that you never go it back.