is there a generation gap with mcann supporters?

[carlymichelle]

 in most forums the   real  no changing their mind    mcann  supporters  seem to be   in their  60s or 70s  the world  was a diffrent place when they were growing up/being a parent   then now it makes me wonder   my  generation ( 30s)   are alot more protective of their  children   and would never dream of leaving their children alone to  go out to dinner   yet it seems    older  generations      did  do    it and     compare that time  to   nowdays


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[Eleanor]

This is a point worth discussing, Carly.  Although I think you will find that a large percentage of McCann Sceptics are also in their 60s and 70s.

Not that I expect anyone to admit this.

[jassi]

Its only us oldies that have time on our hands to waste on here. Younger people mostly have lives to get on with. 

Perhaps you could organise a poll of age distribution.

[Eleanor]

Its only us oldies that have time on our hands to waste on here. Younger people mostly have lives to get on with. 

Perhaps you could organise a poll of age distribution.

Agreed about why a lot of us are here.  But did the era affect the attitude of some of us to child care.  I am pretty sure it affected mine.

[carlymichelle]

what i mean in my  OP  is my parents are in theit late 50s/early 60s and their childhood  sounds  way diffrent then any of mine and my siblings   the teens now and in their  20s are   being too shelted  IMO   but there is a huge diffrence in teen being left    home alone and  3  toddlers  under 4 most of my  generation now  are parents  ( im  not) but they all agree that they would never leave their   young   children  ( toddlers)   alone

[carlymichelle]

  remember in older  generations there  wasnt the technology we have now   parents have to be alert more then ever with the internet etc   where as when i was in high school  year  11/12 the internet  was in  its infancy

[Eleanor]

My children roamed almost wild, as I had done when I was a child.  And I was taught how to deal with the odd dirty old man, as were my children.
But there simply didn't appear to be the same dangers that there are now.  Although I could be wrong about that.  Maybe we just didn't hear about them.

[Carew]

in most forums the   real  no changing their mind    mcann  supporters  seem to be   in their  60s or 70s  the world  was a diffrent place when they were growing up/being a parent   then now it makes me wonder   my  generation ( 30s)   are alot more protective of their  children   and would never dream of leaving their children alone to  go out to dinner   yet it seems    older  generations      did  do    it and     compare that time  to   nowdays

Some supporters say they did and that many thousands of us did, too.............but perhaps it is motivated by the need to defend the actions of the parents by placing them in a group in order to sanitise their behaviour, rather than single them out.

Supporters seem to generalise, shift goalposts or bring in examples which never quite replicate Madeleine`s situation....(or the situation in which she found herself!)

I`ve yet to read an example of anyone leaving toddlers under 5 in an unlocked ground floor apartment ultimately open to a public street and popping back every half hour to check without actually looking to see that the child is  still in her bed......

(Anybody admit to doing that?)

[Brietta]

Although there have always been heinous crimes àgainst children I think present attitudes have been formed against the background of the actions of Hindley and Brady.

Parents became aware of the evil of which the 'ordinary' people next door might be capable ... and the freedoms enjoyed by previous generations of children were curtailed ... the adventures children copied and enjoyed ... Swallows and Amazons and Five go to Kirrin Island became too dangerous for the peace of mind of their parents.

[jassi]

My children roamed almost wild, as I had done when I was a child.  And I was taught how to deal with the odd dirty old man, as were my children.
But there simply didn't appear to be the same dangers that there are now.  Although I could be wrong about that.  Maybe we just didn't hear about them.

I think you are right about that -  child fiddling always went on, but the media did not have the same obsessive appetite for reporting it and so parents were more relaxed about giving their children some freedom, but I don't believe that that extended to leaving children under 5 unattended for any length of time.

However, times change and no doubt everyone would be horrified if a mother left her baby outside in a pram, as happened regularly when I was a child.

[Eleanor]

I think you are right about that -  child fiddling always went on, but the media did not have the same obsessive appetite for reporting it and so parents were more relaxed about giving their children some freedom, but I don't believe that that extended to leaving children under 5 unattended for any length of time.

However, times change and no doubt everyone would be horrified if a mother left her baby outside in a pram, as happened regularly when I was a child.

Gosh.  I frequently left my babies in the garden in a pram.  Everybody did.  Fresh air that the baby wasn't going to get indoors.

And as I have already said, I did leave them asleep in bed for short periods, and I certainly wasn't alone in that.  We did pay attention to possible hazards, and made sure that there weren't any.  Abductors never came into the realms of my thinking.

[jassi]

In reality, abduction and child murder was probably as rare 50 years ago as it is now - we just hear about it a lot more these days.

[Eleanor]

Although there have always been heinous crimes àgainst children I think present attitudes have been formed against the background of the actions of Hindley and Brady.

Parents became aware of the evil of which the 'ordinary' people next door might be capable ... and the freedoms enjoyed by previous generations of children were curtailed ... the adventures children copied and enjoyed ... Swallows and Amazons and Five go to Kirrin Island became too dangerous for the peace of mind of their parents.

I was out of the Country when Hindley and Brady were caught, so I never got the full force of that.

Mine were off for most of the day catching tadpoles, or whatever else interested them.
I used to collect Jam Jars because you got paid for those.

No way did any of mine let their own children have so much fun.  They wouldn't even let me buy my grandchildren Air Rifles, although all three of mine had one of those.
I just made sure that they learned to shoot straight, at a target.  Of course.  That was one piece of parental supervision that I did enjoy

[Eleanor]

In reality, abduction and child murder was probably as rare 50 years ago as it is now - we just hear about it a lot more these days.

This is almost certainly true.  But what price perpetually confining children?  Is this such a good thing?

[carlymichelle]

In reality, abduction and child murder was probably as rare 50 years ago as it is now - we just hear about it a lot more these days.

thats what  i mean jassi social media  ( should  have) made  todays  parents more  alert nowdays of the  dangerr  of leaving  young  children alone  and the mcanns are  smart ) being  doctors)  why     did they not think their  children   were in  danger)   they would have been internet  and social media savy   no matter   where  maddie is or  what did happen there are no excuses   that the mcanns can make to justify    their  actions that holiday   and IMO  people shouldnt   justify it  either  it is   2014 not the  1950s or the  1960s and   this was in   2007