Children Roaming

     This past Shabbos I was minding my own business walking down the street . There were about 5 very small children ahead of me. There was no parent ahead of them. There were a few adults walking behind me.  The 3-5 year olds stopped at the curb and waited. The about one and a half year old kept walking . She walked right into the street. As she was about to pass the curb I for a split second looked to see if anyone was racing to get her. I realized no one was so I ran after her and stopped her. I told her to get out of the street and took her by the hand and brought her back to the curb. Longer time than should have passed  before the child's father came and scooped her up. The family thanked me profusely . I was a bit taken aback by the experience so I quickly walked away.
     It always disturbs me that people are so haphazard about watching their children when they walk down the street. They often rely on children barely big enough to watch out for themselves to look out for children who are even younger. Why wasn't anyone holding this toddler's hand while she was walking? Even if she had broken free from someone's hand it did not look like anyone was trying to retrieve her. As a single  without kids woman I am horrified. How is it that someone lucky enough to have kids can  be so careless? I was afraid I was going to tell these people just this , so I quickly left . I couldn't keep it all inside, so I am sharing my thoughts with you.