•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Overcome by the thrill of welcoming her first child three years ago, new mother Grace Deborah went a little overboard buying all the gear she thought her baby would need: a crib, a car seat, a walker, a stroller, toys and much more.

But as time went by, most of the things she had bought began gathering dust — either because the clothes didn’t fit anymore or the baby grew bored with the toys, even after only a couple of months.

“And so a lot of things were just stacking up and it was really space-consuming,” the 35-year-old said.

Grace said she was sure that many young families had the same problem. “If you have storage space in your house then it probably won’t be too much of a problem, but what if you live in a small house?” she asked. “What are you going to do with all that stuff?”

That’s when Grace had the idea to start a baby equipment rental service. She could make the best use of the equipment that had been idle for some time, while helping solve space and cost problems for other young families.

“The rising cost of baby stuff, especially cribs, is something people will consider if planning to buy new,” she said.

In 2008, the same year that her baby was born, Grace started her business, calling it Anak Panah. It operates online and Grace said it was growing rapidly.

What was interesting, she said, was that most of her customers came from middle- and upper-class families.

“When I thought about starting this business, I expected the clients would be middle- to lower-class families,” she said. “I figured it would be a benefit, financially and space-wise, for people living in smaller houses without much storage space.”

She hadn’t counted on the idea having such universal appeal.

“But then I realized that it made sense, as middle- to upper-class families have better access to the Internet, where I advertise the business,” she said. “A client even rented some items to take on a family trip to Europe.”

Tedriya, the owner of BabysWorldRental, said some of her clients included Indonesians living overseas who came back to the country for short visits.

“They just want to travel light and so renting the equipment comes in handy for them,” the mother of two said. “Besides, it’s very cost-efficient.”

Not everyone is sold on the idea, however. Dieta Amalia Kaniasari, a 33-year-old middle-class homemaker and mother of two, said she would not consider renting equipment for her children.

“I would rather buy brand new for my kids than give them items that have been used by strangers,” she said.

“I’m not saying that I bought all the equipment for my two kids. The crib that my 7-month-old uses is actually from my sister’s first son, who is now 11 years old, and has been used by five other newborns in our family.”

“When our [baby equipment] is no longer used, it goes into the storage room in our house, or to relatives who need it,” she added.

Labiybah Julia Arofah, another young mother and middle-class homemaker, echoed the sentiment. Her main concern is hygiene.

“We don’t know who’s been using the items. It’s kind of tricky for me,” she said.

“Besides, when I went shopping for baby stuff before my baby was born, I had been warned by my mother about ‘smart shopping.’ So I don’t really have that many things cluttering the house.”

As mothers themselves, Tedriya and Grace guarantee that the items they rent meet the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness.

“All the equipment is cleaned after being used and when a new client wants to rent something, I make sure that the equipment is really clean, because I know it is a baby that is going to have direct contact with the stuff,” Grace said.

Tedriya said her clients were given terms that outlined their responsibility for looking after anything they rented.

“They are required to return all the items in the same condition as they received them from us,” she said. “So far, most of my clients have been able to do that.”