British ministers urged to issue guidance on unattended children.

[Alice Purjorick]

I was posting with direct reference to maddie and the possible death in the apartment. We all know about accidents in the home...most happen when children are active...not when they are tucked up in bed...and therefore happen when parents are present in the home. It is wrong to make a direct correlation between accidents and children being left alone. I don't accept that the McCanns were negligent or placed Maddie at risk of  a serious accident...they placed her at risk of abduction.

By not being present they placed their children at risk "from all causes" as one might say.
But then your start point is the McCanns behaved in a thoroughly reasonable manner within the bounds of good parenting. Whilst they broke no laws the Portuguese thought their actions were flaky and by the NSPCC Guidelines they were flaky. Now when you my son can trump the NSPCC as an expert in the field I will listen to you. My belief is their actions were to take unnecessary risks on more than one occasion.

[pegasus]

It was naïve of them not to take that risk into consideration ... if they had been aware of the burglars active in the resort and the assaults on children sleeping in holiday homes a quick risk assessment, which must have been a thought for potential accidents, would have determined their subsequent actions.

If ever we see a photo of the second safety notice on the lounge balcony door then we'll be able to see what it says (I wonder if it was advice to ensure all windows and doors are locked before going out?)

[Mr Gray]

By not being present they placed their children at risk "from all causes" as one might say.
But then your start point is the McCanns behaved in a thoroughly reasonable manner within the bounds of good parenting. Whilst they broke no laws the Portuguese thought their actions were flaky and by the NSPCC Guidelines they were flaky. Now when you my son can trump the NSPCC as an expert in the field I will listen to you. My belief is their actions were to take unnecessary risks on more than one occasion.

You have your belief and I have mine...could you point out where they went against NSPCC guidelines
Children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time
    Children under 16 shouldn’t be left alone overnight
    Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone

so babies and toddlers cannot sleep in their own room?

[pegasus]

You have your belief and I have mine...could you point out where they went against NSPCC guidelines
Children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time
    Children under 16 shouldn’t be left alone overnight
    Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone

so babies and toddlers cannot sleep in their own room?

So if you hired a childminder and found they had popped out for a sarny ...  ?

[Mr Gray]

So if you hired a childminder and found they had popped out for a sarny ...  ?

My point is that even the guidelines are vague..plus... I am not going to crucify the McCanns over their baby listening arrangements...they should be pitied rather than blamed IMO

[Eleanor]

All parents should be chained 24/7 to all of their children under 16.  That should cover it.

[Mr Gray]

All parents should be chained 24/7 to all of their children under 16.  That should cover it.

and the law should be backdated to may 2007 and cover offences overseas too..that should satisfy those on here..

[pegasus]

My point is that even the guidelines are vague..plus... I am not going to crucify the McCanns over their baby listening arrangements...they should be pitied rather than blamed IMO

I assume you would disagree with me on this the various legal peeps in their hats who  came out with with cleverly crafted and indeed technically correct in a legal sense stuff like "well within the bounds ..." were actually doing no good at all in terms of public image because your ordinary peep on the street sees straight through it.

[Mr Gray]

I assume you would disagree with me on this the various legal peeps in their hats who  came out with with cleverly crafted and indeed technically correct in a legal sense stuff like "well within the bounds ..." were actually doing no good at all in terms of public image because your ordinary peep on the street sees straight through it.

I think the ordinary people on the street have a lot of sympathy for the McCanns

[ferryman]

I assume you would disagree with me on this the various legal peeps in their hats who  came out with with cleverly crafted and indeed technically correct in a legal sense stuff like "well within the bounds ..." were actually doing no good at all in terms of public image because your ordinary peep on the street sees straight through it.

If, by that, you mean that a proportion of people in the street would place their own, strictly a-legal interpretation, on what those words mean (and thus corrupt the meaning) then I would agree ...

[ferryman]

All parents should be chained 24/7 to all of their children under 16.  That should cover it.

Precisely.

Just so long as you don't go raising awkward questions such as How safe are sleep-starved parents around children ...

[faithlilly]

I think the ordinary people on the street have a lot of sympathy for the McCanns

Social media and the comments sections of daily newspapers seem to suggest otherwise.

[ferryman]

Social media and the comments sections of daily newspapers seem to suggest otherwise.

You mean that when those of a certain persuasion get word of an article about the McCanns that is allowing comments, they crowd in with their "comments" and "observations"?

There is a certain, ahem, bias in the representation, there.

[jassi]

You have your belief and I have mine...could you point out where they went against NSPCC guidelines
Children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time
    Children under 16 shouldn’t be left alone overnight
    Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone

so babies and toddlers cannot sleep in their own room?

Of course not - Nanny is there to look after them. 

[Mr Gray]

Social media and the comments sections of daily newspapers seem to suggest otherwise.

no its a small group of militant activists...how many supporters has bennetts latest petition got....1700 ish