by Mandi -Watch where the chalk-white arrows go. To the place where the sidewalk ends. S.S.
Member since:
January 24, 2006

Madeleine McCann {would you leave kids alone?}

September 08, 2007 12:20 PM UTC
views: 0 | comments: 34

I have been catching up on missing 4 year old Madeleine McCann.While I do not want to believe the parents killed her or have anything to do with her dissapearance,  I have to question why they would leave 3 kids under the age of 4 alone.

First of all they are both doctors vacationing in a foreign country, where they are staying in a private villa. Why couldn't they afford a sitter for the evening, instead of leaving the kids alone while they dined in a nearby resturant?? They say the kids were sleeping and that they checked on them frequently, but geez everyone with a toddler knows they wake up all the time and can wander, especially if they find themselves alone!

I would be nervous leaving a 10 year old, there is no way I would leave THREE kids under 4. NO WAY!

What do you think?

 

 

Comments: 34

arlene (no shame in my game) w. Sep 8, 2007, 12:22pm UTC
I think it sounds suspicious!
arlene (no shame in my game) w. Sep 8, 2007, 12:24pm UTC
Very suspicious!
Kylee S. Sep 8, 2007, 12:25pm UTC
I was watching the news this morning and this is very suspicious to me
Natalie Neal Whitefield Sep 8, 2007, 12:31pm UTC
I agree. I would NEVER leave small children alone. It makes no sense whatsoever. There should always be a responsible adult on the spot with children of any age. No child of any age is safe when left by themselves---not in this day and age---I wouldn't even leave teenagers at home by themselves without someone nearby whom they could trust should something go wrong. But three children under the age of four? No way!

~Natalie Neal - Best in the Whole Wide World
Larry H. Sep 8, 2007, 12:36pm UTC
We wouldn't leave a child that young home alone, or anywhere else alone.
Teresa W. Sep 8, 2007, 12:39pm UTC
Yes, we'd never leave our children alone for any reason, not just because it's against the law but because we love our children and want to keep them safe which is our job as parents! This whole story seems so terrible and suspicious on so many levels!
Lynn R. Sep 8, 2007, 12:41pm UTC
I agree completely. When I read that I flipped. What were they thinking? I couldn't believe it and thought like you........If they are both doctors why couldn't they hire a babysitter or a nanny? No way, would I do this.

It is very suspicious. They said she didn't rent the car until a couple weeks after the little girl came up missing. Well, if thats the case, How'd her blood and DNA get on the seats of the car? I realize they have another suspect but this is a weird case. Kind of reminds me of the Jon-Benet Ramsey story.
Spencer T. Sep 8, 2007, 12:47pm UTC
I agree with you. Causes suspicion to set in.
Sharon A. Sep 8, 2007, 12:56pm UTC
I never left my little ones alone. My daughter is 16 almost 17. I would not leave her alone in a motel room---anywhere. I am too paranoid for that. I have a 7 year old, who has never been left alone.

I am with you on this all the way. I don't know if they had anything to do with this, but the circumstances are very suspicious.

Great question by the way. I am always curious if other people think it is alright to leave their young children alone, and when?
jane K. Sep 8, 2007, 1:09pm UTC
I would not leave my kids alone. That said, I could be asleep in my bedroom and someone could sneak thru a window and take my child. So to be a good parent, do I have to go sleep in their room?

This is definitely a cultural divide. Hadn't some of the other couples at dinner with them also left their little ones alone in their hotel rooms?
Cynthia C. Sep 8, 2007, 1:15pm UTC
It is totally unbelievable. What kind of doctors are these people??? I never left my child alone. You even take a chance if you hire a sitter. My daughter has a 5 year old and 2 year old and she or their father, or me the grandma is ALWAYS with them.

This story does seem a bit like the Jon -Benet story...
jane, I am not sure of other couples left children.. i had not read that...but if that is the case they should have picked on person from the group to stay with all the kids. Or gone out in 2 groups...first group stays with kids, then goes to dinner when first group gets back... there were options.

I just hope this little girl is found alive.

thanks everyone for your opinions...it is obvious that a lot of people find this suspicious.
Carol Lloyd Sep 8, 2007, 1:17pm UTC
I try not to judge as we dont know the logistics and from what I hear it would be like youre kids in the house while you were in the back yard.
carol, From the articles I read, the resturant was not in the backyard of the villa..it was down the street.

I can not even fathom leaving my 3 little kids alone to go eat...and in a foreign country no less!
Jack C. Sep 8, 2007, 1:53pm UTC
Yes, it sounds suspicious. So why didn't the police press their investigation earlier? Now the leads are cold. Still can't comprehend a mother wanting to kill or abandon her children.
Leslie T. Sep 8, 2007, 2:32pm UTC
I just feel sorry for the little girl. She had to pay for their negligence.
Vivian P. Sep 8, 2007, 2:51pm UTC
My kids always went with me or were with another adult. I even went outside to watch them as they played. Often people don't think the worst will happen to them.

I knew better
Donald M. Sep 8, 2007, 3:20pm UTC
I never even left my 12 year olds at home by themselves unless a neighbor, or my parents were checking on them periodally.
Eyvonne H. Sep 8, 2007, 4:32pm UTC
I think it is very suspicious too. People saw the mother checking on them, but who's to say the little girl was even there at that time? My son wasn't left home alone until he was 13 and that was only a 20 minute span. He was home from school 20 minutes before I got home from work. We had a really great neighbor who would see him come home and then my son would call me even though I was on my way home at the time. My x husband worked for child protective services so I know too well all the horrible things that can happen in a very short time.
donna h. Sep 8, 2007, 7:12pm UTC
I pray the little girl shows up ok.
Sue * Sep 8, 2007, 8:39pm UTC
We never left our kids alone until they were probably 14 and 12, and then not at night, and not for very long...and that was at home. We stayed in several hotels that offered babysitting services when they were little, and as nice as it would have been to have dinner alone, we never even trusted the people enough to do that. I hope the parents didn't do this...but, it is looking bad for them right now. She is such a little doll...I pray she is alive.
thanks all.

I read they let the parents go back to England today...they really did not have a enough to hold them.

I was thinking..if people saw the mother checking on the kids, someone like a pedophile/murderer/ etc could have seen too and snatched Madeleine after the mother left for the last time. scary stuff.
Denise B. Sep 9, 2007, 7:02pm UTC
I agree. I would NEVER leave my kids alone at home, forget about leaving them alone in a strange place.
tina stiles Sep 9, 2007, 10:42pm UTC
I agree. I would never leave my kids alone, no matter how close by I was. I hope the parents didnt have anything to do with it, and I truly hope that Madeleine is okay and returns home soon.
carmel m. Sep 10, 2007, 8:15am UTC
This sounds very suspicious. I refuse to allow my children out of my sight even in the local grocery store.
Marie L. Sep 10, 2007, 12:20pm UTC
I would never let my children alone in a hotel room (or anywhere else for that matter) -- this story troubles me for just that reason.
Charles T. Sep 10, 2007, 1:28pm UTC
it all sounds less suspious than stupid...I don't doubt the poor baby is dead tho....
thanks all... in the end it is all very sad... she has been gone for 4 months or so now...I just hope they figure out what happened to her to give everyone closure. AND if the mother and/or father had anything to do with it I hope they get what they deserve.
Jerri H. Sep 10, 2007, 10:53pm UTC
not on your life....nope
Janene C. Sep 13, 2007, 1:04pm UTC
It is very common in Europe for parents to leave babies in strollers outside of stores no less. When I was in Germany, I saw parents do this quite often.
Shawnee G. Sep 17, 2007, 3:38am UTC
I personally would not leave my 4 children alone, they are 10, 4, 3, and almost 1. I have explained what to do to my 10 year old if she ever gets off the bus and we are not there, say we are running a few minutes late, but so far, that has never happened.

Like others have mentioned, it could be a cultural thing, maybe the two Drs thought "When in Rome." and it backfired. I was kind of looking at it as something the parents did wrong by leaving the children alone, but then I also think that why just the 1 child out of 3? If there was something wrong and going THAT wrong for the parents/mother to be involved in her disappearance, why not all of the children?
Shawnee, I wondered too why only one kid...but what if she woke up while the others slept and wandered out of the hotel looking for her parents? She may have been taken then...but I think I read there was a small amount of blood in the room....then again they also said there was blood in a rental car that was rented 25 days AFTER she went missing! I am not sure those cops over there know what the hell they are doing.

thanks all!
El Toro Bravo de Amor Oct 8, 2007, 9:56pm UTC
Is there a difference between being "the killer" and leaving a 4 year old unsupervised? Not in my galaxy.

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