Madeleine McCann

[Pin-seeker]

Sums it up well for me Rich.

All of the people at dinner that night had sleeping children it appeared and they all made that (quite wrong) call that it was ok to check them every half hour. I also recall the distance being quoted as 50m and not the 500m said, I believe, on here. I would be willing to bet that many on here have slipped round to next door for supper when kids have gone to bed and popped back to check them frequently, never had a problem and never considered it wrong.

If you havnt ever done that, consider for a moment the day you decide that your child is old enough to walk to school alone, will it be your fault that some deranged person just happens to choose that day to snatch a child? You will always feel guilty but was it your fault or the abductors?

Seriously I wouldn't dream of leaving my child in the house alone,,he'd be distraught if he woke up & me or is mum weren't there.
As for letting him walk to school alone,definitely not at 3 years old with 2 younger children.

 

[pokerjoke]

Sums it up well for me Rich.

All of the people at dinner that night had sleeping children it appeared and they all made that (quite wrong) call that it was ok to check them every half hour. I also recall the distance being quoted as 50m and not the 500m said, I believe, on here. I would be willing to bet that many on here have slipped round to next door for supper when kids have gone to bed and popped back to check them frequently, never had a problem and never considered it wrong.

If you havnt ever done that, consider for a moment the day you decide that your child is old enough to walk to school alone, will it be your fault that some deranged person just happens to choose that day to snatch a child? You will always feel guilty but was it your fault or the abductors?

For someone who found this thread distasteful you certainly have a lot to say.
I thought you wanted the thread closed.

 

[Ethan]

Reputational damage?... ooooooooohhh

I've been slandered too many times on this forum - watch out from now on you lot!!!

Don't worry. Saying someone doesn't understand the new ball flight rules or has a nasty reverse pivot is unlikely to be considered defamatory.

 

[chrisd]

For someone who found this thread distasteful you certainly have a lot to say.
I thought you wanted the thread closed.

I do find a lot of it distasteful but have said on it a couple of times that the suggestion that I shouldn't continue to read or post on it quite wrong.

 

[chrisd]

As for letting him walk to school alone,definitely not at 3 years old with 2 younger children.

I carefully didn't mention an age in relation to this.

 

[Pin-seeker]

A lot of different opinions on this subject,but sure every one would love to see Madeline found safe.
Obviously the parents made a shocking decision to leave their children alone & they have to live with that.

 

[Pin-seeker]

I carefully didn't mention an age in relation to this.

No but there comes a time in your child's life when you let them do things on their own. Staying alone at 3 isn't one of them.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Ironic to see the guy carrying his child has been given the all clear because he was carrying her from a NIGHT CRÈCHE about 300m away from the Mccanns apartment.

It's a compounded lack of judgement and sense which caused this. And multiple nights out on the sauce.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Ironic to see the guy carrying his child has been given the all clear because he was carrying her from a NIGHT CRÈCHE about 300m away from the Mccanns apartment.

It's a compounded lack of judgement and sense which caused this. And multiple nights out on the sauce.

Very good point

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

What slightly confuses me is people like the guy who has just been given the all clear, why hadn't he come forward earlier? I am in no way saying he had anything to do with it, but if I was in a resort at the same time, and had wandered around in the evening with my blond 3 year old child in my arms, I would have come straight forward and said that is what I was doing, I was here, here and here, so you can disregard those spottings.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

This is always going to be a very emotive subject with lots of treding on egg shells so I will try and say this without being distasteful

The main thing for me is young Maddie is missing because her parents didn't just make a mistake they made a momumental poor error in judgement that I believe can't be excused. I'm sorry but you don't leave three young kids with oldest being 2 alone every night whilst you go and have a meal in a rest yearn with your friends. That's in my humble opinion beyond a mistake - that is very poor parenting to the point of neglect. If that was a young "benefit" family then child services would have been on the case and an investigation would have occured in my opinion with possible criminal charges being applied. It's not a nice thing to think that way but I'm just being honest with myself here - no way in a million years would I leave my kids of that age alone in a foreign country in an apt whilst I go of and have dinner. Young Maddie was abducted because the parents werent there to protect her.

Another thing that troubles me is Kate McCann herself - there is something about her I don't trust , her body language and mannerisms just don't seem right. There is a list of 40 odd questions that she refused to answer to the police about that night which she even acknowledged would have harmed the search. At the moment I put it down to shock of the incident

The next thing is the search and media highlight - absolutely no problems with that because it might help find the real victim in this - young Maddie. I do hope hand in heart they find her and return her home. She doesn't deserve want happened.

 

[chrisd]

No but there comes a time in your child's life when you let them do things on their own. Staying alone at 3 isn't one of them.

I totally agree, but my point was, if on the first day that you feel its ok to let your child walk to school on his/her own and he/she is abducted by some predator then will you blame yourself or the abductor.

I totally disagree with anyone leaving 3 young children in an apartment unsupervised, I never did it when my son was young and hope that my son wouldn't leave his young children either. Having learned in the very harshest of ways I am sure that the McCanns wouldn't do it again either!

 

[guest100718]

I totally agree, but my point was, if on the first day that you feel its ok to let your child walk to school on his/her own and he/she is abducted by some predator then will you blame yourself or the abductor.

I totally disagree with anyone leaving 3 young children in an apartment unsupervised, I never did it when my son was young and hope that my son wouldn't leave his young children either. Having learned in the very harshest of ways I am sure that the McCanns wouldn't do it again either!

I think the point some are trying to make is that its there is no child snatcher grabbing random kids off the street, but by going out every evening and leaving their 3 children alone unsupervised, they unintentionally allowed who ever did this to plan and execute this terrible crime.

 

[chrisd]

I think the point some are trying to make is that its there is no child snatcher grabbing random kids off the street, but by going out every evening and leaving their 3 children alone unsupervised, they unintentionally allowed who ever did this to plan and execute this terrible crime.

Absolutely correct.

My, and others, point is though, that as stupid as it was to do so, it was, as you say unintentional that the consequence of their action led to such a disastrous result and they will pay the price for their stupidity for ever. Some postings here give me the impression that the McCanns are to be considered at fault for what happened on a scale equal to that of the abductor. I am absolutely, in no way condoning the McCanns and their friends leaving their children as they did- in fact quite the opposite.

 

[bozza]

Absolutely correct.

My, and others, point is though, that as stupid as it was to do so, it was, as you say unintentional that the consequence of their action led to such a disastrous result and they will pay the price for their stupidity for ever. Some postings here give me the impression that the McCanns are to be considered at fault for what happened on a scale equal to that of the abductor. I am absolutely, in no way condoning the McCanns and their friends leaving their children as they did- in fact quite the opposite.

Not on a scale to the person that allegedly snatched her but if you were a teacher/child minder and you left a child/children this young alone while you were having a meal/drink etc, you would face some sort of criminal action for neglecting to do your job.

It's your job as a parent to keep your children safe/healthy and leaving them alone in a foreign country at night on more than one occasion is neglect in my eyes.

Yes they have suffered and it's a heartbreaking story and I wouldn't wish it on anyone but in the cold
Light if day they have neglected to provide adequate care for their children and left them
In a dangerous situation on numerous occasions.

 

[Ethan]

Nobody disagrees that if they had still been in the apartment, this tragedy would almost certainly not have happened. The debate is about whether leaving them in the apartment to go to the tapas bar was willfully negligent or something a bit stupid that has a massively disproportionate outcome. I think it is hard to comment on that without the benefit of hindsight. The Maddy McCann case is now a teaching case on not doing this, but can we honestly say that the vociferousness of the condemnations would have been just as strong before the case?

 

[Khamelion]

Ironic to see the guy carrying his child has been given the all clear because he was carrying her from a NIGHT CRÈCHE about 300m away from the Mccanns apartment.

It's a compounded lack of judgement and sense which caused this. And multiple nights out on the sauce.

Exactly, with the alleged implications being the family with the appartment furthest away being targetted. As the DCI on Crimewatch said, they now think this was an organised event in which several days reconnaissance took place.

The circumstances in which Madelaine was taken are sad and could have been avoided had the parents executed better judgement and common sense. They were unfortunate that their appartment was on the end of the block, had it been in the middle we could well have been discussing a different families missing child.

 

[Robobum]

.........but can we honestly say that the vociferousness of the condemnations would have been just as strong before the case?

Absolutely 100%.

Going for Tapas and Pinot Grigio does not make it more acceptable than going for Kestrel and a joint. The latter would be condemned without hesitation.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Yes they would have been as strong - most defiantly. Leaving kids that young alone in a holiday apt isn't just a simple mistake ( one they seemed to do every single night ) - it's beyond poor lack of judgement. No one leaves kids that young alone for more than a minute unsupervised , I will never comprehend why they did it

 

[Ethan]

Absolutely 100%.

Going for Tapas and Pinot Grigio does not make it more acceptable than going for Kestrel and a joint. The latter would be condemned without hesitation.

I think you misunderstand. Before the Maddy case had happened, would the terms of this debate be so strongly expressed. Nowt to do whether they were going for Bollinger or Buckfast.