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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Stroller + Escalator = Accident
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Anonymous
OP sounds like a pretty typical mom-to-be. And like the rest of us, she'll likely find actual parenting (as opposed to pregnancy) more humbling than she could ever imagine. Kids really do have a way of knocking us down a notch or two! 
Meanwhile, her main point is a valid one. Strollers + escalators = Accidents. I've seen a few myself, and here's a link with more info/examples: http://www.getbetterhealth.com/why-you-shouldnt-take-a-stroller-on-an-escalator/2009.11.05 P.S. OP, you will be more effective on this board if you stick with the facts and leave out the commentary about yourself and why you think/do the things you do. It's distracting and frankly, not interesting to a bunch of strangers on the internet. |
Anonymous
Where on earth did you get the sense that these are the same posters? |
Anonymous
Why do you assume ppl who post here are not the same who post under "off topic"? 
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Anonymous
| You're like a dog barking at anything that walks past the fence. Just itching for a fight. Go find some a/c and calm down. |
Anonymous
| Given that you've taken it upon yourself to "educate" your husband on how to pass judgment on other people and enforce a your parenting attitudes on others, I do hope someone before you has taught him to be humble and patient and to mind his own business. Those are good qualities for a new parent to have, too. |
Anonymous
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Yes, it is very dangerous. But the judgmental attitude is too much.
That said. I have taken a single stroller on the escalator once. I had no other option. I let other people pass, made sure there was nothing hanging down from the stroller that would get caught, and the toddler's arms and legs where in. I then centered myself and backed up instead of putting the stroller first, as that gave me more control and made me feel more comfortable. No mishaps, it went smoothly. But it's not something I would want to do very often. |
Anonymous
Get a grip. Derailing the public transportation thread in order to bash on people's children for sitting in your beloved metro seat was enough. BTW - I take the elevator. And when I take the metro, one child sits on my lap, and one child (the older one) sits in a seat. Unless, I have not taken the bus and am not traveling during peak times - in that case we have either a single or double stroller which means we take up one seat, or none at all. It depends on the circumstances. And, I'll give up my seat for somebody that obviously needs it. I don't feel the need to give it up for an able bodied adult with jealousy issues. |
Anonymous
| What is the big deal? I just moved from London where, not only are there virtually no elevators on the metro system, but in many cases there are no escalators or they are broken. People take babies and toddlers sitting in prams and strollers up and down escalators all the time. In 3 years, I did not have, hear of or witness an accident. While an elevator is always a better option if available (and not full of able-bodied commuters who can't be bothered taking the escalator), it is indeed possible to take an escalator without risking the lives of your nearest and dearest. Just be careful. On the other hand, my heart is in my mouth every time I drive on the beltway or other major road with my DD and DS as drivers talk on cell phones, leave virtually no gap between cars or, when you indicate to change lanes, actually speed up to try and stop you from doing so. Now that's a real threat to my children's safety for me to worry about. |
Anonymous
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I have taken a stroller on escalators many times and would tell you to F off if you said something like that to me.
Just because you think it's dangerous, doesn't mean other people can't do it safely. Just like the myriad of other things moms disagree about - drinking while pregnant or BFing, cosleeping, leashes, etc...you need to keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself. That said, funny escalator story - my sister in law was riding the rail of the escalator up in a dept. store (this was years ago). She rode it almost to the top, where she fell off. Luckily there was a tall display case to catch her, but it was so high up it required the store manager to get a ladder so they could get her down. Another friend had her sweater sleeve stuck in the rail and 'eaten'...and i've seen people's chuck taylors eaten by the chinatown escalators (luckily with minimal toe damage). I've also known quite a few people who have fallen backwards. I'm sure you'll hear many, many stories like those...but none involving strollers. So tie your laces, roll up those long sleeves, and focus on yourself. |
Anonymous
| For what it's worth, I think the most dangerous part of my commute is crossing the street with my daughter strapped into her stroller. We have been nearly hit several times, while in the cross walk, either with the "walk" sign in our favor, or crossing an intersection controlled by stop signs. I try to make eye contact with drivers and cross as safely as possible ... but we've still had near misses. And downtown in the evenings, there isn't even a clear crosswalk to walk through, half the time, it's so clogged with drivers who are "blocking the box". Escalators, elevators, metro trains -- all a piece of cake compared to crossing the street. By all means, minimize risk to yourself and your baby -- but please, leave the judgment at home. |
Anonymous
| how many of you noticed that OP actually recognized her mistake and apologized?? |
Anonymous
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OH NO!!! ESCALATORS!!!
What else are we going to become deathly afraid of because of media scare tactics. How many children have died in escalator accidents? Now, compare that to the number of children's deaths attributed to accidents walking up/down stairs in parents arms. Also, compare it to the number of children's deaths attributed to elevator accidents. I'm going to guess you'll see there is no discernible difference between these three and, if anything, the stairs prove most dangerous, once controlling for other factors. But a few years back, the media harped on some overblown story of a kid getting stuck in an escalator and ever since, parents freak out in this very same way. Holy cow... |
Anonymous
Note that the linked site relies on a video from Zimbabwe (that is no longer even on youtube). And, if you read further you'll see that the vast majority of injuries to children under 5 years old were due to hands or feet getting caught by a walking toddler or pre-schooler. Only 6% of injuries were related to stroller, and those involved falls out of the stroller (i.e. parent standing behind the stroller on the down escalator, which is very stupid). As the previous posters point out, Europeans seem capable of handling strollers on escalators without incident. (Of course, Europeans also have few car accidents, are less likely to hit pedestrians or bikes with their cars, less like to leave loaded guns around for toddlers to shoot themselves with, and more likely to have universal health care and paid maternity leave.... so perhaps we should expect Americans to be incapable of safely managing a stroller on an escalator). And, just for the record, I seriously doubt the incident described by the OP actually happened. |
Anonymous
I've had issues with crossing streets too, and I don't even regularly commute with kids. Just a walk to the nearby library or walking to the metro to take a short trip can be pretty hazardous at times. Drivers simply don't look, either that they don't care, or think they can make it past you. I've had people try to pull ahead or behind me as I was in a crosswalk, I've had people look right at me and make eye contact and wait, and I start walking and then they gun it. I've had people almost turn into us many, many times. I'm always very proactive. I constantly check surroundings, peer over my shoulders while in crosswalks to make sure there are no cars trying to turn, try to make eye contact with drivers, etc. But it still happens. |
Anonymous
| I've taken the metro plenty of times with DC and more times than not the elevator at either end is broken. So I have to take the escalator. I take DC out of the stroller, carry him, and ride up or down. Simple. |