Poll - would you have left Madeline McCann?

[meridian]

Voted no, but would have voted yes if there was a baby monitor in the room to hear if the kids woke up.

I do tend to agree with DA though, and have even thought it about the Swiss RE guy who went beserk and killed his daughter - there but for the grace of god, etc etc

[sasguru]

Voted no, but would have voted yes if there was a baby monitor in the room to hear if the kids woke up.

I do tend to agree with DA though, and have even thought it about the Swiss RE guy who went beserk and killed his daughter - there but for the grace of god, etc etc

The fact is most kids get hurt by people they know - usually their parents.

[oxtailsoup]

DA - How old are your kids?

I think much of this is down to age. If your kids are babies then yes I would say you were irresponsible for leaving them in the room whilst you went to the restaurant.

[DodgyAgent]

DA - How old are your kids?

I think much of this is down to age. If your kids are babies then yes I would say you were irresponsible for leaving them in the room whilst you went to the restaurant.

5, 7, 11 15

[SallyAnne]

5, 7, 11 15

If they were 2 and 4 would you have left them?

[barely_pointless]

as a parent of a 3 and 4 year old, I never go out of "line of sight" of the exit when we have barbq's at new years etc, but the honest answer in this case is upsetting........ I actually don't know, as a parent I feel so much for the McCann's , But I do know that whilst I may feel relaxed around our domestic situation, I very rarely drop my guard outside of that.

hard one...........

[meridian]

Mine's 18 months and we've left him in a room on his own (with monitor).

Kids have been snatched from occupied houses before, so in your eyes does that make us bad parents, or must they be tied to our apron strings every minute of every day?

Where is your line drawn for what's acceptable and what's not, given that you don't actually have kids?

[SallyAnne]

Mine's 18 months and we've left him in a room on his own (with monitor).

Kids have been snatched from occupied houses before, so in your eyes does that make us bad parents, or must they be tied to our apron strings every minute of every day?

Where is your line drawn for what's acceptable and what's not, given that you don't actually have kids?

Of course not!!!

ffs - leaving your baby sleeping in it's bedroom with a baby monitor = acceptable.
Leaving it in an apartment, 2 stories up, accross the pool, behind another set of apartments, and into a restaraunt, with no supervision and no monitor = unacceptable.

[SizeZero]

There was an intruder in my house 2 nights ago at about 2.30 in the morning. My heart almost stopped when my bedroom door opened - luckily it was one of the neighbour's cats who had been playing with my kids that day in the garden. It had got in because I'd not closed my daughter's bedroom window properly. My daughter was fine. If that hadn't been a cat but a person, it could have been a very different story and I'm sure people here (forums or Britain, take your pick) would have strung me up for it. It's a heart-stopper but as a parent you have a hundred of these as they grow up.

The McCanns made an error of judgement that, on any other day, they would have gotten away with.

Would I leave my kids alone? No, because I've never been a parent who puts my own fun before that of my kids: they've been to every pub-restaurant I've ever been to while we've been on holiday. If I had wanted to act like a single or a couple abroad, I'd have delayed having a family. I wouldn't even leave my kids behind with parents or in-laws, I'd feel too guilty that they were missing out. But that is just my opinion and what suits me wouldn't suit all and that's ok.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to living your life or raising your family.

Incidently - if Maddie had been taken from a crowded beach, would there still be this guilt cast on her parents?

[vetran]

Size Zero, I doubt people would have pilloried you for it.

Forgetting to close the window in the house is a lot different to leaving kids alone in an unlocked and unfamilar place.

I feel unsettled when I stay in a hotel, I'm like a cat on hot bricks when I have the kids with me. So possibly I'm a bit biased.

They were <5 yrs old, if they had an older sister / brother say 12 yrs old with them then I would have trusted them grudgingly to stay home inside 50 feet for an hour max.