Crimewatch - Madeleine McCann

[SueEllen]

What was the point of this programme? The abductor (assuming there was one) is probably Portuguese, or not British anyway, so what do they think they'll gain covering it on Crimewatch in the UK? Presumably the police had to field thousands of calls from people thinking one or other of the hilariously different e-fits of the same bloke looked like their neighbour, even though said neighbour had never been to Portugal.

It's because it was a blonde little girl with nice middle class parents.

If the kids were one of these then you haven't heard of them.

[d000hg]

A better analogy would be leaving your doors and windows open in a high crime area with all your cash on the kitchen table and then complaining about it being stolen.

No, because as far as I know that area is not famed for child-kidnappings. It's more like leaving your door unlocked and nipping to the post office - unless someone happens to come along trying all the doors, there is no problem at all. But just sometimes, someone does. It's therefore unwise to leave your door unlocked but you would never expect someone to stroll into your house in the middle of the day, just as you would never expect a kidnapper to come and steal your child.

[Mich the Tester]

It's a daft and irresponsible thing to do, but for the reason the kid might turn the gas on or hurt themself, not because they might be kidnapped.

99 times out of a hundred you can leave a kid alone and the worst that happens the other time is they get a bruise or two, which is not really a problem in the grand scheme of things.

Living your life based around there being kidnappers waiting to steal your children is silly.

It'd be interesting to see how many people can honestly put their hands up to the question 'who hasn't done anything daft and irresponsible?'

[russell]

Unfortunately little kids who can walk can go for a wander when you are in a shop with them and on a day out with them let alone when you are in a different room or when you are asleep.

You are only saved by nice people - adults and older children - who are around who spot a little kid on their wander who can either direct them back or keep them from going further.

So therefore you need to be as attentive as possible. Or is your argument they will wander away anyway so just let them and hope the first person they come across isn't a paedo?

[Hairy]

WDAS

Everyone alive has had near misses, "if only" moments, etc - whether driving, on holiday or parenting. You would have hit the other car if they hadn't noticed, your child falls down and happens to smack their head on the lawn rather than a rock, etc.

But I think this is the nubb of it all.

I have a 2 year old. If you look away, literally, for a minute, she will be doing something she's not meant to as she's at an age where she's challenging herself and her environment. Look away for 5 minutes, and something will definitely be happening. Go away for 30 minutes and, well, we all know. The people actually left their accommodation, and walked down the road to a restaurant, leaving the kids under their own supervision. This isn't taking your eye off them when you’re washing the dishes, this isn't answering the phone for 5 minutes and becoming distracted, or looking a little to long at a magazine in a shop, it is wilfully walking away from your kids, so you can have a meal, drink, dance, whatever. I think it is this that people have raised their eyebrows a little.

[MaryPoppins]

Living your life based around there being kidnappers waiting to steal your children is silly.

Don't patronise me.

I didn't say basing your life around the possibility of kidnappers was what I'd recommend. The idea that they might need me in the night, or hurt themselves, or that the house might burn down [!], would be enough to dissuade me. Along with the fact that when I decided to have a baby, I also opted to put their needs before my own, which is what I believe a half decent parent does.

They decided that going for a meal was more important than their children, and most members of the public struggle with that concept.

[russell]

No, because as far as I know that area is not famed for child-kidnappings. It's more like leaving your door unlocked and nipping to the post office - unless someone happens to come along trying all the doors, there is no problem at all. But just sometimes, someone does. It's therefore unwise to leave your door unlocked but you would never expect someone to stroll into your house in the middle of the day, just as you would never expect a kidnapper to come and steal your child.

I admit the chances are very slim let's say 1 in a million chance of your child being abducted while you go out for a meal. However what's at risk is so great (my child) I would not be willing to take the chance.

[MaryPoppins]

It'd be interesting to see how many people can honestly put their hands up to the question 'who hasn't done anything daft and irresponsible?'

Me. Tons. I should probably be dead by now given some of the stuff I got up to in earlier years.

But not with my son. I have near miss moments - accidents. But I do not choose to put him at risk.

[d000hg]

I'm not patronising you. I'm saying that any suggestion that they "deserved it" or "were to blame" are simply ridiculous. Being bad parents, or being selfish, is absolutely nothing to do with a predator on the hunt for a victim.

[TykeMerc]

Hhmm. But those things, those near misses, are a bit different.

Taking the decision to leave the building my child was sleeping in, to go and have dinner a few hundred meters away would not be an accident.

My opinion has always been that making this decision is different to sitting downstairs while my child is asleep upstairs, but by the same token they nor their daughter deserve what happened.

I couldn't agree more.

My sons are all way past the point where these concerns are valid, but it's simply common sense that if you can't be available to provide care for your children a babysitter is required, anything else is not sensible.
I wouldn't wish their situation on even my worst enemy, but they're certainly culpable to an extent simply through their negligence in leaving the children unattended. It's not like there was even an emergency that they as medics had rushed to help with, they went out on the lash and knowingly left the kids alone in the holiday accommodation.