To have told these children off?

[jayisforjessica]

I was working today - I work part time in retail, just for a little extra spending money for us all - and there is an escalator in my store. The side facing my counter is the "up" escalator. I saw two boys running DOWN it, and jumping down a few steps from the top. I went over and told them that the escalator is not a toy - not realizing that their father was standing there watching them do this. He didn't seem too impressed with me telling his kids what to do (he made it seem like I was spoiling their fun).

But I just am not sorry! All it takes is one video like to make you never, ever want let a child play silly beggars on an escalator ever again!

(WARNING for video in link: It's a clip from Rescue 911, an old show that did reenactments of emergency situations. This one is called Boy vs. Elevator, so... just be aware that it's a pretty harrowing watch, if you do click through. The harrowing-ness is what made me go after those boys today.)

Yadnbu. The parent in this situation sounds like an arse.

YANBU

They'd be the first to sue if one of them ended up injured.

Wouldn't think too much about it. People need to tell children off more these days if they're acting foolishly without fear of reprisal.

YANBU - we do this frequently at work with the full backing of our management team to do so. It's horrendously dangerous and our managers would rather deal with a pissed off parent after we've told their kids off than the injury claim if anything happened!

YANBU

You should have also told the father off for letting them do it.

I can't bring myself to watch the video but I saw someone fall down an escalator recently and it wasn't pretty. YANBU.

People like that dad drive me mad. I saw a woman in macdonalds tell some children (very nicely) to stop playing with a fire exit recently. Kids apologised and ran back to the play area. Their grandad went mad at her. Effing and blinding about how no one had the right to tell his grandchildren off, didn't she know who he was, how dare she etc. Why the whole lot of them weren't kicked out I don't know.

Yanbu
Did you not explain to the parent why he shouldn't let his children play on the escalator?
I think I would have asked the security guard to have a word too
Some parents really don't deserve their children

Nah. I wasn't looking to pick a fight about parenting. All I wanted was for the jiggery pokery on the escalator to stop. He can be a crap parent if he wants, but at least I'd made sure his kids wouldn't be hurt in my store on my watch.

I did say "this is very, very dangerous" but I said it to the boys, who to their credit, stopped at once.

So the boys stopped straight away and the dad didn't say anything but you got then sense he "seemed" unimpressed?? Non issue so, you were right to say it, the dad didn't say anything to you, problem solved

You did absolutely the right thing - everyone is responsible for a child's safety and if the parents are complete and utter morons, then it is someone else's duty to keep kids from doing themselves untold harm. Some parents are such complete irresponsible idiots.

YANBU, you were at work, in a position of some authority and responsibility in the shop. Don't give it another thought.

Years ago a little girl at my school died after falling off of an escalator she was playing on - at our local hospital. Obviously medical staff were there immediately but they still couldn't save her so from my point of view you were definitely not being unreasonable.

You did the right thing and you reminded me of this: