Were the McCanns really guilty of neglect?

Question

As the parents of Maddie did do what health and safety experts would call a risk assessment and decided on a course of action to monitor their wellbeing, How could they ever be found guilty of neglect?
Also, those people who claim that the children would have been safe if the parents had stayed with them, it's not necessarily the case.
For example; my young daughter once awoke in the night and decided she would go downstairs and make herself something to eat.
Having watched how my wife and I made bread and butter she tried to do likewise.
Getting a knife out of the drawer and then climbing on to a chair to reach the table, she slipped and succeeeded in stabbing herself in the neck. Fortunately she recovered after emergency treatment. The presumption that your children are safe because you are there is false. Do we as parents have to stay awake for twentyfour hour of the day-impossible.
The mcCanns judgement may have been wrong, but it was a mistake and nothing more.

To almost all of you:
I'm impressed by almost all of the answers to my question in that most have put their arguments well whether or not you agree with me. Shouldn't that be the norm.

Answer 1

That's probably the only thing in the whole McCann saga that, if it happened they way they said, everyone here agrees on - they are guilty of neglect.

Edit: It was not a mistake. They used to leave the kids alone quite frequently and considered it normal. In fact, they even said it was something common for English parents, which I seriously doubt. There are bad parents and good parents. Their nationality has nothing to do with it!

Answer 2

Mccanns Guilty

Answer 3

You were there for her when she was hurt and needed you. You were in the house. It was an accident. We know these things happen. That is why we stay with our children at home and in unfamiliar environments.

These parents chose to go to a resort for a family holiday which excluded children from some areas for a start. One where the children were fed in a creche away from their parents..

These parenets opted out of the listening service which is apparently every 15 to 20 minutes.

These parents chose to opt out of using a DECT baby monitor which would have enabled them to listen to what was going on in the apartment.

The parents chose to go out to the restaurant instead of enjoying a quite time on the patio enjoying food and possibly a drink with each other or possibly with others who have no children with them. However when abroad with children it is no different to being at home, one parent should be able to drive if necessary and certainly parents should be sober enough to access help. Remember everyone speaks Portuguese there, not everyone speaks English. If you need help you are going to have some communication difficulties if you don't speak Portuguese. For this you need to keep a clear head.

These parents left 3 babies unaccompanied in a foreign country in an unlocked aparetment at the top of a steep flight of steps, where there any baby catches on the cupboard and drawers? Were there child proof socket protectors. Was it specificaly laid out to be be baby safe and child friendly.

One night might be negligent - especially when they were told that Madeleine had been crying. Surely more than one night is neglect?

Please do not think that I am a McCann hater. I feel desperately sorry for these tormented parents whatever happened to Madeleine and I am ever hopeful that she will be found. If she is dead I hope that she is found so that she may receive a Christian burial and her family and friends have closure.

Answer 4

I understand what you are saying but it isn't about protecting your children 24/7 it's about trying to. If your child wakes up and has an accident you can surely say that it was just an accident and you really did all that you could. You were in the house at the time to hear the scream and rush her to hospital which is what is expected of a parent. If you left the house would you have heard the scream? Could you have helped? I think not. This is where neglect comes in. Parents can't watch their children constantly but they can be close enough to hear if there is a problem. The McCanns failed in doing this by leaving the apartment and going for a drink with friends. Children are never completely protected but that doesn't mean that you have the right to walk away and leave them alone using the philosophy 'What the hell, something could happen to them even if I were here so I may as well go for a few beers'. It's a bit like saying I could get hit by a car tomorrow so I may as well not bother looking when I cross the road anymore.

Answer 5

Sorry for the McCann's for losing a child but they guilty. Other people who have left there children have been taken to court. But the McCann's have not

Answer 6

My opinion falls somewhere between neglect and mistake -but much closer to neglect.
People are rightly saying that what happened to YOUR child with the knife was an accident that couldn't possibly have been forseen, as was the child abducted from the bath while her mother was in the house. I recall that THAT mother said she felt guilty -even though there was absolutely no way she could have prevented it, apart from being with the child at all times in the house.

However, what happened to Maddy (presuming she was abducted) WAS forseeable. Just because her parents decided it wasn't a HUGE risk that harm of any sort would come to her, doesn't mean the risk didn't exist, and equally doesn't mean that their assessment was correct.
That said, they were on holiday, and it has been reported that the holiday company actually encouraged parents to leave kids and go out, which is why I can't in all honesty call it complete neglect. It's not something I would EVER have done with my kids at that age, if anything I was over-paranoid, and anyone who looked at them for too long was a potential abductor!! Even now they are 13 and 12 I rarely leave them on their own for more than 1/2 an hour.
BUT people do act differently on holiday -things are more relaxed, you allow kids a bit more freedom than at home, if others were doing it the McCanns may have thought "why not?".
I'm absolutely not excusing or condoning what they did, just trying to find reasons. I think they'd do themselves far more favours if they would just admit they were wrong instead of excusing it.
EDIT: I wasn't aware that they knew the kids were distressed -if that's true I can't excuse their behaviour at all, and they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt I've been allowing them.

Answer 7

Are we forgetting that the other friends/couples with the McCanns all did the same thing and left their children in apartments alone taking turns at checking all the children every so often, yet Maddie was the only child to be taken. Are they guilty of neglect? Yes -neglecting their parental responsibilities to keep thier children safe until they are old enough to look after themselves resulted in who knows what happening to this child. At the end of the day only Maddie and the perpertrator know what happened that evening. Technically all the parents in that group that went out are all guilty of neglect by leaving the children alone that night. Only the Mc Canns have an empty space in their family now as a result of their negligent behaviour. The others were 'lucky' on this occasion that it wasn't their child that was taken.

Answer 8

Laws are put in place to protect our children and their are laws in Portugal about leaving children alone. While there is no set age it clearly states they need to be mature enough and surely 2 and 3 years old is not mature enough. We may not always like the laws that are put on us but they are all their for a reason and are meant to be upheld. Most normal people know that leaving children that young alone is unacceptable and unsafe. And as far as your daughters unfortunate accident..we all as parents have had them. I would hope that you took some sort of measures to protect your child in the future incase she chose to get up for a snack again. Even if it was telling her to wake up mommy at night if she is hungry. We take safety measure at home like gates on the stairs, locks on the poison cupboard, placing medicines out of reach because we are trying to protect our child from unfortunate accidents. You cannot protect your child when you leave them alone for hours. Jane Tanner and Russell O'brian left a vomiting child alone that night. Would you go out drinking and leave your vomiting child home alone? Most decent parents would not even leave them with a babysitter if they were that sick.

Answer 9

Sorry but what happened to your child seems unforseeable. The fact of the matter is that it was completely forseeable that leaving three very small children alone in an open apartment could lead to tradgedy. All children have the right to care and protection, it is a parents responsibility to ensure they do everthing within their power to ensure their children are kept well and safe. There was a simple solution in the McCanns situation, take the kids along, get a babysitter or why not stay at home and invite friends around. I do not think this was a mistake, it was a lifestyle choice that has cost one little girl a terrible price.

Answer 10

In the eyes of the law they were,and are guilty of neglect.The only puzzling thing to date is why they have not been charged ,with this CRIME.When you bring up children everyone makes mistakes,but leaving your children alone,while you bog of to party with your doctor cronies is not a mistake,it is criminal.The speed that Social Services are moving ,or in this case,not moving,beggars belief.and l hope that the next parents who are prosecuted by the Social services ask for the same considerations as the McCanns are getting

Answer 11

Yes, they did not even take reasonable care of their 3 children.
They are both informed, intelligent people who were made aware of their children's distress at being left alone while they went out.
They made a conscious choice to satisfy their own pleasures above their children's well-being and safety. They had safe options open to them which they ignored or refused.
After being told your children were distressed and crying because you had left them alone, what parent with any compassion could then go out and actually enjoy themselves. It hurts my heart to think about that. The parents answer to the crying problem was not to stay home and give their children the care and security they needed, it seems they found an alterative method.
Sorry having kids will cramp your lifestyle, if you are not prepared to sacrifice your freedom don't have them!