It was at the central public library in Chicago. A family was heading down an escalator. First came a little boy, with a backpack-leash-stuffed-animal attached to him. Something like this:
Next came the mom, holding the leash. Next came a bored preteen boy. Finally there was a little girl, able to talk and walk, but not too proficient at either.
She gets to the escalator last and looks worried.
(escalator at Harold Washington Library)
An older man and I look at each other and make faces of concern.
Gamely, she tries stepping onto the escalator, but somehow she does it incorrectly, and ends up riding down backwards, her hands on one step and her feet on another.
"Mommy!" she cries, but in a little voice, and no one in her family hears her.
Well, I hear her, and the other guy hears her, so I bolt down the escalator, get below her, inform her that I'm going to pick her up, pick her up safely, and hand her to her mother.
"Thank you" says the mother. "Thank you" says the little girl. "Good catch" says the other guy.
When using a moving stairs,
with a kid who can barely stand,
first of all - be aware,
secondly - hold her hand!
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