This is a huge source of anxiety for the mother I am not yet but hope to be one day. Do you see what I'm talking about? I mean, look at that!
If you're looking for a rat, there isn't one (not to say there aren't rats in the subway, but mostly those critters stay on the tracks which I don't look at because you'd have to be in standing in the yellow and that's not safe; people do it all the time and just seeing strangers stand there raises my anxiety levels so I would never stand there to look in the pit).
There is just open space between you and the edge of the platform. Nothing is there between YOUR KID and IRREVOCABLE DEATH. If you are in the street and the kid accidentally steps off the curb, usually it's no big deal- you can yank them back on the sidewalk with ease.
There is no room for error here. And you can't just keep the kid in the stroller until they're old enough to understand.
I'm getting the panics just thinking about it. I could probably blame all three gray hairs on this stressor, except I don't have any gray hairs at least not until the roots start growing back in.
Maybe someone will tell me that it's not as scary as I'm perceiving it to be. In the mean time, I'll be spending my spare surf time looking at houses in Maplewood NJ. Ok, maybe not, since I promised I'd be ok with staying in the apartment for another two or three years (mostly while a future kid is unable to walk and thus safe from IRREVOCABLE SUBWAY DEATH.
I can't think about this any longer tonight. I'm going to have some chocolate.
LOL! I can see what you are saying, and yes, you do get over it. I think you will find that your biggest challenges are not the space available between platform safety and the track danger, but the stairs where your strength will often be tested as you carry your stroller, with your child, and all the other goodies needed to make it through your journey with your child content...so THAT...and the masses going in the opposite direction testing your balance at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, the subway elevators are "cleaner" than they used to be only 4 years ago, and you hopefully live in an area where you can walk to shops, restaurants, parks and other activities. It can seem a daunting task to survive the city with a child, but it really is not that bad. : )