To have stepped in during unfolding escalator disaster?

[PictureMeInThese]

Went to a shop with an escalator with dd and when we went to get on it we had to wait while a family of 4 hesitated to get on.
Dad stepped on, no problem-he's away.
2 dd's (about 5 and 3 at a guess) eventually step on together. Mum doesn't step on. The youngest dd turns around, starts walking down the escalator towards mum and it becomes apparent the 2 dds are attatched- they have jumpers tied around their middle that are tied together.
The first dd is carrying on up the escalator, her younger, attatched sibling constantly moving down. Mum just stands there.
I envisage the older girl tubling down many steps,so I push past and pull the jumpers apart.
The youngest tumbles a bit, but only down a step or 2,caught by the mum, still just stood at the bottom.
I grab her hand until we've got off at the top.
I couldn't believe the mum just stood there, but did I overstep the mark?

I don't think so, no. It was instinctive to avoid the both falling. What did the mother say though? Was she angry? Is that why you are posting? I don't think YABU.

She did thank me actually, but as the younger girl had fallen and was crying I felt bad and it was a bit 'forward'. I suppose i'm just worried if I did the right thing.

You did the right thing. That could have been very nasty if they had stayed tied together.
Dh and I were walking up steep stairs behind a woman with a toddler, he let go of her hand and started to fall backwards, she couldn't turn to grab him she was very pregnant. Dh scoped the child up and set him at the top of the stairs as Mum followed, she was so happy he had been saved from falling backwards. Marble steps too.

Why do you think you overstepped the mark if the mum thanked you? Am I missing something??

I think people are scared of touching other children and stepping in where the childs parent should. All the stuff in the media about sexual abuse etc people are just a bit more wary and may miss a genuine opportunity to help because they are afraid of being accused of abuse.

There is another thread on here from a mother concerned about her neice being present at her ds' bathtime. People are a lot more alert & hypersensitive then they used to be.

Genuine questions:
why did the mother not get on the escalator? Why were the children joined together by string attached to their jumpers?

What on earth were the mum and dad thinking? They must have known the girls had a jumper tied around them. Silly for walking around but unbelievably dangerous on an escalator.

Thank goodness you were there, one of them could have lost a toe or worse.

I saw an old lady trip on the escalator once, her hair got caught up in it and she got dragged half way up by her hair, it was horrific and I'll never forget the sight

Why on earth were the children tied up together?

Of course you weren't being unreasonable. Thank goodness you were there to help. The parents sound like they have no instincts regarding danger.

YANU I know a little girl with a nice scar from falling on an escalator. They are not at all forgiving.

Ofcourse yanbu. Which idiot ties up a toddler with a a child on an escalator?!
The way you describe the family it sounds like they'd never seen an escalator before; were they foreign?

I remember those welly boot adverts on TV from the 80s warning children to use escalators safely. They're quite dangerous if misused.

Whole thing sounds odd. Had they never seen an escalator before?

Of course you did the right thing.

What a sad world we live in that you have to come ask.

Yanbu. A similar thing happened to me on one of those moving walkways. Twins aged nearly 4 and a basket of shopping. Ds1 instructed to hold onto handles of basket with me, I had basket and hand of Ds2. As we stepped on, ds1 let go of basket and stayed at top.

I was so grateful to a lovely lady who held his hand until I could dump basket at the bottom and come back to the top with ds2 to collect DS 1.

My sister and my best friend are both very afraid of escalators. I would assume that the mum in this scenario was the same.

But it's MN world isn't it? It makes you question everything. There may be a thread spring up today saying 'AIBU to think this woman should not have interfered on the escalator?'.

I caught a toddler falling out of a shallow shopping trolley recently. The Mum didn't thank me as she didn't even notice.

I may tie my two up with a jumper today. They are 14 and 11.

Some folk just get really freaked by things like escalators and lifts. And your anal croc warning. Be very careful on escalators if your kids are wearing crocs, know of a few horrendous accidents where the croc was dragged in and the kids had serious injuries.

Does anyone remember the 70s public warning film where the rag doll gets shredded in the escalator? Terrifying.

I am always very afraid of anal crocs.

Yes, sparkling I do.

And the wellington boot! YANBU op it would have been odd not to help!

:)

I don't want to know what an 'anal croc' is. I really really don't.

I wonder if mum saw what was about to happen but was unable to move.
that happened to me.

YADNBU. don't worry, you did the right thing. if it was my kids I would have preferred you to save them from injury! well done
in fact here:

./

medal

No, you were right to step in. Even if there wasn't an altercation with the parents I can understand why, on reflection, you feel that you might have overstepped the mark. It's always shaky ground when it comes to other people's children so YANBU to be worried, but you have nothing to worry about. You stopped a nasty accident from happening which would have been entirely the parent's fault. The stupidity of others really shocks me sometimes, tying children together is odd in itself, but allowing them onto an escalator is ridiculous.

That clip has bought back some memories! I haven't seen that since I was about 4. I'm showing it to my daughter when she wakes up.

am going on an escalator today....how do i check for anal crocs?