Madeleine case used in Court as reason not to jail absent mother.

[Benice]

I don't know where you get the idea that parents routinely go out for the night on holiday and place a baby monitor amongst the crockery and wine glasses on a restaurant table

We had a monitor back in the day 

It was on the living room carpet,  and we had one ear on it constantly,  whilst watching TV on a low volume  ....   waiting for any cough,  or muffled cry  ...  even the sound of a gentle  rustle of the sheet would elicit a  'whup'  .... and the obligatory trot up  the stairs to have a look  'just in case' 

It's no good I suppose  ...  there is just no way I can relate to the cavalier attitude that group  displayed toward the care of their children that week

I understand there are state of the art Baby Monitors available which have ranges of many hundreds of feet.  When my own son was on holiday last year he was surprised by the number of people sitting at the bar/restaurant  who had baby monitors with them.     I also remember reading an article long ago which mentioned people in a ski resort sitting in  bars with their baby alarms on their tables.

No doubt this will not be given any major publicity unless a child is abducted.   IMO that possibililty could be prevented by laws confining their use to inside the home.

[Sherlock Holmes]

I understand there are state of the art Baby Monitors available which have ranges of many hundreds of feet.  When my own son was on holiday last year he was surprised by the number of people sitting at the bar/restaurant  who had baby monitors with them.     I also remember reading an article long ago which mentioned people in a ski resort sitting in  bars with their baby alarms on their tables.

No doubt this will not be given any major publicity unless a child is abducted.   IMO that possibililty could be prevented by laws confining their use to inside the home.

Probably does need a law.

What use is hearing something amiss if you're hundreds of feet away?

[AnneGuedes]

...  and what if the child had woken,  and gone outside looking for mum,  stumbling into the path of a passing car in the process 

It would not have been a   'just as well'  that she left him vulnerable then ,  would it  ?   

What if something unexpected happens ? An earthquake for instance, a fire in your building (this is quick) or an assault that leaves  you half dead in the corner ? I kept imagining these things when my kids were young.

[AnneGuedes]

What use is hearing something amiss if you're hundreds of feet away?

You can sing a lullaby... or actually have it played in mp3 format... Poor kids..

[Benice]

...  and what if the child had woken,  and gone outside looking for mum,  stumbling into the path of a passing car in the process 

It would not have been a   'just as well'  that she left him vulnerable then ,  would it  ?   

Do you really think Madeleine would have gone outside in her pajamas and wandered around with no shoes on  - in the dark on quite a chilly windy night - AND taken the trouble to close 3 doors behind her?    I find that very hard to believe.   

[Benice]

What if something unexpected happens ? An earthquake for instance, a fire in your building (this is quick) or an assault that leaves  you half dead in the corner ? I kept imagining these things when my kids were young.

If people felt like that then why would they ever put their chldren in a car - knowing full well that thousands of children have died in car accidents?

People do not think in those terms - otherwise they would never leave the house.

[icabodcrane]

Do you really think Madeleine would have gone outside in her pajamas and wandered around with no shoes on  - in the dark on quite a chilly windy night - AND taken the trouble to close 3 doors behind her?    I find that very hard to believe.

I wasn't talking about Madeleine  Benice,  I was talking about the little boy who is the subject of this thread

Like his mother's lawyer,  you have made a comparison 

[AnneGuedes]

Unfortunately Anne - human beings suffer from a universal misconception.   And that is that nasty things only ever happen to other people.   They do not realise that to everyone else on the planet they ARE the 'other people.

That is why IMO sometimes the law has to be applied.

"It" only happens to others, yes, that's universal.
There are many laws already, perhaps too many, the problem is to apply them.

[Benice]

I wasn't talking about Madeleine  Benice,  I was talking about the little boy who is the subject of this thread

Like his mother's lawyer,  you have made a comparison

Sorry -  my mistake.  But my post is still relevant IMO - as Madeleine was brought into that case.

[AnneGuedes]

If people felt like that then why would they ever put their chldren in a car - knowing full well that thousands of children have died in car accidents?

People do not think in those terms - otherwise they would never leave the house.

No, imagining is one thing, acting another. Never let one overwhelm the other.

[John]

Do you really think Madeleine would have gone outside in her pajamas and wandered around with no shoes on  - in the dark on quite a chilly windy night - AND taken the trouble to close 3 doors behind her?    I find that very hard to believe.

That's a good point Benice which I don't recall having seen anyone make previously.  A bit like the Joana Cipriano case where the presence of the girls shoes and sandals evidenced her return.

Does anyone know if Madeleine used slippers on holiday?

[Carana]

That's a good point Benice which I don't recall having seen anyone make previously.  A bit like the Joana Cipriano case where the presence of the girls shoes and sandals evidenced her return.

Does anyone know if Madeleine used slippers on holiday?

Her red shoes were apparently found at home. There is no evidence, aside from an uncorroborated witness statement from someone who didn't even live there, that all her footwear was found at home.