I’m no saint or hero and I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet but I want to raise an interesting issue, based on an experience I had this morning. I’d really appreciate getting your comments on this one.
As I was cycling up a hill on the way to work this morning I noticed a group of five young children, probably around the age of 10 to 12. One boy was riding his scooter downhill on the footpath.
A steep hill, a small boy, a footpath and a scooter is not always a great combination. Three quarters the way down the hill the boy and the scooter parted ways.
This looks serious
The boy lay motionless on the footpath. I looked around to see who would help. The woman on the pushbike nearby kept riding. The woman walking with her very young child kept walking. I headed across the road to see what I could do. Thankfully he started moving.
As he got up I could see many scrapes and bruises. I could also see that he was shaking. I was able to direct him to sit back down while he dealt with the initial shock of his high speed collision with the pavement. One of the girls had a mobile phone so they called his mum. I suggested they make sure that she was told that he was OK, just a little scraped and shaken.
Emergency over
Once I was sure that everything was under control I jumped back on my bike to continue the journey to work. (It’s hard work getting started again half way up a steep incline.) The children all said thank you for stopping …. a number of times.
What would you do?
I wonder what you would do in that kind of situation. I wonder why other adults in the area just kept going about their business.
I know that I think twice before stepping in when kids are involved. As a society we’ve been trained to think the worst whenever an adult male is interacting with young children. I was certainly glad that there was a group of children so that I wasn’t dealing with the boy on my own.
Is there a reluctance to help others these days? Are we concerned about what others might think? Are we too busy to care? Are we worried about our liability if something goes wrong?
Would you stop to help someone who is injured or in distress?
As I said earlier, I don’t think I’m a saint or a hero, I’m just someone who saw a need and jumped in. I’d like to think that that’s normal but I’m wondering now how normal it is. I’d appreciate your comments.
