The mother acted kind of like I was crazy. That was before cell phones and reporting everything to child protective services.
I used to get away from my mother a lot when I was little (hyperactive), and kind strangers always "rescued" me. Once they stood me on a display table in a department store where there were a lot of people milling around. Finally my mother spotted me among the fuss. Even at that young age, I was embarassed.
It is horrible that it has come to this. A little girl fell through the bleachers at a race (I saw that happen once myself at a stock car race) and was bleeding badly. My son grabbed her and ran with her to an ambulance he had seen near the entrance of the track. I suppose that is different, but I think the father (who was kind of stunned) didn't know what to do and appreciated the help.
He knows how careful he has to be because I drummed it into his head when he was still at home. With women it isn't quite as bad, but it is still a problem.
Something like this happened to me about 1 1/2 years ago on a summer afternoon. I went to the neighborhood grocery store, a few blocks from my house. About a block from there lived toddler triplets and their parents. Even at this young age, they were notorious for being in the street, or being left outside alone to play. As I turned the corner, I saw what at first glance I thought was a small dog or cat. I quickly realized it was the little girl. Her brothers were not out. I quickly stopped the car, and got between her and the middle of the road, to stop her progress. A grandfatherly man on the other side of the street shouted out to me that they were always 'escaping' and one day one of them was going to get hit by a car. I told her to hurry back into her house because cars were coming. She looked at me and then obediently ran into her yard. At this point, mom came out, yelled at her and looked at me weirdly. I muttered something about how fast toddlers are and how quickly they can escape. She slammed the door shut, still yelling at the child. I was very glad the old guy had witnessed the whole thing. They did later put up a fence.
Things have changed a very lot in a short time. Years ago, when my son was much younger, a young toddler had 'gotten away', crossed the road, and started talking to my son and I at a local park. We took him by the hand and walked him back in the direction he came to grateful parents. Now, it's like we have to stop, wasting valuable time, to decide the best way to handle it. The pervs to seem to have the upper hand here, changing the way we react to situations.