Would you have left your child?

Question

What has happened to poor Maddy is horrible her parents must be going through hell, would you have left your child like they did in the same situation, same place etc?

Answer 1

nope, however i think thats a pointless question to ask on here as even if people would leave there children they wouldnt admit it-lol!

Answer 2

This is a brave answer.I have left my children in hotel rooms and gone down for meals or to the bar .Every 20 mins my husband and i would take it in turns to check up.A bit like the Butlins and lots of hotel baby sitting services.My babies have been left sleeping in the garden whilst I did my work.We lived in pubs, hotels and huge homes where the kids rooms were a long way from our workplace.On reflection anything could have happened!Whoever has taken this child is the evil one --not their poor parents who will always blame themselves.Sitting in the club the other day I was listening to some loud mouth rabbiting about this and saying she would never leave her children.They of course were nowhere to be seen playing on the stairs or the concert room ---may be the beer garden.Silly woman .I have never ever thought that I neglected my children and still don't.If a little boy can be taken from his mummy whilst she is paying for goods in a store it can happen anywhere to anyone .I remember a child being taken from a caravan whilst her parents were sleeping.If it had not been little Maddie it would have been another little girl.----Maybe one whose mummy turned her back whilst dealing with another child or who slept too deeply after a day on the beach.You might not like this answer but I bet(and know) a lot of people have behaved no differently.

Answer 3

I would say no, but I don't think we should judge the McCanns because of this. In alot of resorts nowadays they do a babysitting scheme, where a childminder goes to the rooms every half hour to check on the children and make sure that they are ok. The McCanns did the same as a payed childminder from the hotel would do. If a childminder had been watching their children at this time instead of Maddies family, it would've still happened and nobody would be blaming her parents would they!! Its just awful and I really feel for her parents.
As we've heard over and over again, where they stayed is supposed to be a very safe place and alot of families choose to go on holiday there because of this.
When you look at pictures of the restaurant where they ate in conjunction with where there room was, it must be only 50 metres away. It seems to be within view.
Thay must be going through hell now, and they are going to have to live with consequences for the rest of their lives, so they don't need our critisism. They will torture themselves forever for what they have done so we should not make statements of blame.

Answer 4

However much sympathy i feel for the parents i must be honest and say i would never have done that. I took my 11 year old daughter on our first foreign holiday last year and she was never out of my sight for the whole duration. Even though this sort of thing happens more regularly now in our country than it did before i don't think i could ever take the chance away from home.

Answer 5

Firstly I feel desperately sorry for the parents of Maddy and would not wish their circumstances on my worst enemy. However, I can honestly answer the question with a resounding no. The reason is not fear of kidnap - they are desperately unlucky to have suffered that - but fire. If nothing else comes from this awful event, it may well save the lives of thousands of other children who may have died in fire through being left alone. Fire takes 2 minutes, just 2 minutes in an enclosed room and all the occupants are likely to be dead.

Answer 6

In the modern context, no, and being so trusting as to leave French doors open and not have a babysitter was an error in judgement which they will regret for ever.
However it was tremendously bad luck!
If you think about a young mother who leaves her child in front of a television or in bed to go and hang washing in the back garden and leaves a side door open, there is the same window of opportunity for someone to snatch the child. Think of the little girl who was abducted from her bath whilst her mother was in the next room last winter, for instance.
Sadly things have changed drastically in the modern world. You have to bear in mind that not so long ago it was the done thing to leave a baby in a pram in a front garden or outside a shop, and no-one would have raised an eyebrow. Likewise, a mother who needed something from the corner shop could leave a sleeping child at home without locking doors or even thinking that anyone would want to harm or snatch her child.
I used to walk to school on my own at the age of five in quite a busy town absolutely safely, and so did other children of the same age. My parents sent me unescorted abroad when I was an eleven years old girl, and I never came to any harm.

One of my own daughters at Madeleine's age was walking by my side . I was not holding her hand as I had just come out of the supermarket and was carrying bags. Someone stopped me to ask for directions. The pavement was very busy and she continued walking. When I had given the explanations less than a minute later, she had vanished. It took the police two hours to locate her: she had followed another lady into a near-by department store. I was beside myself with fear, so I can imagine the hell Madeleine's parents have been going through for over ten days now, and I think "Here but for the grace of God....."
Recently I was staying in a hotel with elaborate baby listening facilities. I went to bed early as I was tired, and became aware that a small child was running up and down the corridor crying "Mummy! Mummy!". I got up, went to investigate and found this little boy who could just say his name. Clearly he had managed to open the door of the room from the inside and it had then clicked shut behind him. I tucked him in my bed and called reception. His parents had gone down to the bar for a quiet drink ten minutes earlier thinking he was asleep, and clearly the baby monitor had not picked up the fact he had left the room. This could have turned into a tragedy too.
If someone has decided to snatch a child, they will do it, just like a determined burglar will find a way of getting in. Babies have been snatched from supposedly safe hospital units despite precautions.
Madeleine's misfortune was that she is such a ravishingly pretty child and tempted either a childless person, or a paedophile, just like the lovely little boy who disappeared in Greece fifteen years back and was never found. Whoever snatched her must have been watching her and her family, saw their opportunity and took it.
Society's misfortune is that at one time one could trust others, leave doors open and people respected innocence, but it is no longer the case.This has been aggravated by the ease of travel, and the abundance of media supplying evil materials to those who want them. Because of all this society has got to the point where children are so overprotected that they are stiffled, deprived of freedom and denied the chance to explore their environment without constant supervision.
People responsible for children, whether parents, grandparents, childminders or teachers have to be alert at all times and must constantly put barriers up to protect their charges: a moment's carelessness or distraction can be fatal.
Madeleine could have been snatched under her parents' nose on the beach whilst they were dealing with the younger sibblings without anyone noticing.

Answer 7

Although I've not been in that situation on holiday of whether to leave my children or not my initial thought would be definately no but whats happened as happened and this shouldnt be the focus now, the focus is the little girls safe return home to her mummy and daddy, we all make mistakes unfortunately for this family they are paying a big price, my thoughts and prayers are with them all

Answer 8

I'd leave my child alone in their room ever night to sleep. The world is a terrible place and no matter whether you would or wouldn't leave your child alone to go to dinner everyone leaves their children alone in a different room on a daily basis. It's not that I really care whether the parents are responsible enough or not. I'm just getting fed up with the same question about the parents over and over again. It's old news and some will agree and some will disagree. The deed has been done and there is little point in procrastinating.

Answer 9

At my home I would feel ok going outside or right down the street while my 2 1/2 year old is napping because I live in rural america where crime is not even a consideration. In a foreign country, no.

Answer 10

Considering the resort offered a baby sitting service I would have opted for that rather than leaving my children alone. My heart goes out to them and I am sure they regret their decision now. The world is an unpredictable and rather wicked place now and I never take any risks with my Son.

Answer 11

No and I honestly didn't realise people did this!! My sister went to Spain and said lots of people there were doing it!!
I wouldn't be able to relax anyway I'd be back up there every 2 minutes and I'd say I'm a very laid back mum!!
There are so many things that could happen not just abduction!
However I'm sure they realise it was a bad mistake and I feel so sorry for them!