Dangerous Crocs
A couple of weeks ago we had a terrible scare. While on a lazy trip to the mall, my 5 year-old’s foot got caught in the escalator, very nearly severing her toes, or worse, foot. Thank goodness though, she was all right and we got away with a nasty fright, feet a little scratched but unharmed.
She was wearing her pink crocs, those rubber gardening shoes which have taken kids (and parents) footware fashion by storm.
It happened just as we were getting down to the lower floor. N suddenly screamed, and as I grabbed her, the back strap of the shoe was gobbled up mercilessly by the escalator. If the croc had been tightly fit (luckily it was loose, so it slipped off), her (gulp) foot could have been swallowed up as well.
N was shaken, and people behind us tried in vain to help, pulling the shoe out of the machine, but it was jammed, slowly getting crushed, every pink bit of it. N was so brave, seemingly more upset that her foot was now naked.
My sister, who was with us, stayed with the guards who were now filing a report, taking photos and such while N and I went in search of new shoes. My husband was furious when I told him what happened, he felt it was mall’s fault, using a faulty escalator. I agreed with him, until I found out that this incident with crocs on escalators has been happening all over the world. Read on and be wary of those shoes!!!
Dead Croc in Rustan’s:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daphneosena/410998792/
Singapore Child Loses Toe:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/061109/3/44ngj.html
Crocs + Escalators= Danger:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=bizarre&id=4630653
May 16, 2007 at 2:44 am
That is very scary. But here is the question. Will you let her wear crocs again?? I just love that my 3yo can put them on by herself.
May 29, 2007 at 8:40 pm
dont just blame the crocs children are prone to accidents you should be more attentive to your child
September 3, 2007 at 11:35 pm
It happened again in a Mall!
http://www.nbc4.com/news/14026136/detail.html?dl=mainclick
September 10, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Very scary. We as parents should always keep an eye on our children when using escalator. Make sure your children always be in front of you.
September 10, 2007 at 10:52 pm
your tips come in time. I nealy bought a pair of crocs for my daughter last weekend. She was asking for it as her cousin has it. Luckily there is no more sizes of her. Pamela
November 9, 2007 at 3:45 am
let’s not blame crocs for the accidents that happened on escalators…children, even adults, should be aware not to put their feet/toes near the end of escalator steps…obviously, the material crocs used can be easily “eaten” by escalators, but isn’t it like using paper near fire?
January 4, 2008 at 6:45 am
DO NOT LET ANYONE WEAR CROCS UNLESS THE GROUND IS ABSOLUTELY “DRY”……I BROKE MY ANKLE IN TWO PLACES SLIPPING ON MOSS WITH CROCS. THEY ARE ONLY FOR SUMMER WEAR>
April 25, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Anyone can slip on moss, even if they are wearing combat boots.
May 27, 2008 at 4:48 am
Same thing happened to my nephew at the movies. He was wearing crocs and just riding up the escalator with his dad. Suddenly the croc was stuck in the escalator and his toes/foot were almost mangled. Yes, this can happen with any soft shoe, but it is worth recognizing that many, many incidents of this have occurred with children specifically wearing crocs.
June 3, 2008 at 11:33 pm
[...] a year ago, I posted an incident that happened to my daughter at the mall. She was wearing her pink crocs when it got caught in the escalator. After reading other incidents [...]
June 17, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Safer to let your kids wear good old sneakers or those sports shoes that are really meant for running and playing.
June 20, 2008 at 11:43 am
Crocs, Havaianas, local sllippers have the tendency of having accident in escalators, it’s only CROCS that is pinpointed with this kind of accident, just be attentive to you, yourself and your kids.
July 7, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Let me rephrase this: “Crocs + Escalators= Danger”
–> Crocs + Escalators + Neglectful parents = DANGER