Yeongdeungpo-gu has launched a baby and childcare product rental service to ease the financial burden on families with infants and support a healthy child-rearing environment, the district said.
Baby and infant products tend to be used for only a short time yet carry a high price tag, making new purchases a significant expense for many families. The district is running the rental service so that households with young children can freely access a range of childcare items.
The service is open to households with infants 24 months old or younger, as well as pregnant women, who are registered residents of Yeongdeungpo-gu. The standard rental period is 60 days, with a single 30-day extension available upon request.
Rentals are available at three branches of the Yeongdeungpo-gu Comprehensive Childcare Support Center's toy library: Dangsan Branch No. 1, Singil Branch and Daelim Branch.
The nine available items are cribs, diaper-changing tables, newborn car seats, strollers, bouncers, Bumbo seats, high chairs, baby carriers and bottle sterilizers — with a limit of one item per person.
The rental fee is 10,000 won ($7) per infant per year. Veterans of national merit, basic livelihood recipients, single-parent households, people with disabilities and foster families are fully exempt, while families with multiple children receive a 50 percent discount.
The toy library branches are open Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — except the Daelim Branch, which closes at noon on Saturdays. All branches are closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays.
Residents wishing to rent items should create an account on the Yeongdeungpo-gu Comprehensive Childcare Support Center website, then visit the nearest branch in person with a valid ID and a copy of their resident registration certificate.
"We launched this project to help ease the financial strain that comes with raising a child," district mayor Cho Yu-jin said. "We will continue to roll out a range of child-rearing support policies to make Yeongdeungpo a place where parents can feel confident having and raising children."
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