to not send my boy to nursery because of the little girl's abduction all over the news.

[YesAnastasia]

It's not that I think it will happen to him but it's on my mind, on all the news and everyone's taking about it and it makes me want to have him sat on my lap 24/7. You can't help but imagine what if it were you, can you?

Nursery seems disorganised at best at the moment and I just want to keep him at home for the rest of the week. Is that bad?

Having said that I am very sorry and concerned to hear of this abduction, especially as we have friends who used to live in M ( I won't attempt spelling !) and so have been there several times. I know it's an exceptionally lovely and close-knit community - hopefully all that support will be there to help and comfort this family x

Luckily you can always opt out of mass hysteria of this kind. You can unlike Facebook pages, you don't have to look at tweets and you can hide Mumsnet threads.

I have done of all of these, but my fb friends are commenting on it, which is why I have logged out :). I am sticking to watching the news. I cannae bear all the armchair Miss Marple's and Hercule Poirots who apparently know more than the police.

I have no problem with the helpful parts eg twitter and facebook were the first to announce the news, which means people were on the lookout quicker. It was the ones that just come on to slag the parents, people saying they can't sleep thinking about it, how devastated they are etc etc.

I do agree with you Rhubarb, about how it is easier to blame the parents than deal with the shock that someone could abduct a child.Kind of gives value and reassures people that it could NEVER happen to them, because "they" would never let their child out to play at dark o'clock/till they are 30.

Yup the psychologists would have a field day. :o

Yes, that happened a lot with Madeleine McCann too didn't it ? Everyone saying they'd never leave their DC's asleep in a hotel room to have a drink/ meal whatever with friends outside. I'm just sure there are plenty who have/ would ... though obviously less so now (easy to be wise after the event)

Yabu the terrible situation has no bearing on whether your ds will be safe in a building supervised by play workers. There are no similarities whatsoever. If you want to cuddle your ds do so but I don't see why you wouldnt send him to nursery. If there is a problem with the nursery deal with that but don't try and mix it up with a totally separate issue.

Sad though this case is-it IS an isolated incident, and contrary to what the media would have us believe, there aren't child abductors/paedos etc round every corner. But every time something like this happens, parents become even more fearful of stuff happening to their kids. And has others have said,something is more likely to happen in their own home (statistically). Nor has it changed since the 50's/60's, we just talk about it more.

But we keep them in, lock them up, let them play upstairs on games consoles and hover round every activity, instead of teaching our kids how to stay safe and be streetsmart. This is why some kids are not getting the exercise they need/becoming obese/socially awkward, cos people are too scared to let them out on their own.

I grew up in the 70's and I remember there was a flasher in the woods. We always played in groups.We ran home and told our mums and the police were called.

In fact I remember my mum telling me that there was a flasher hanging about when she was a child (this would have been during the war), and her granny ran downstairs with a kitchen knife, ready to cut it off the dirty bugger :o

Oh I'm so relieved to read the posts of MrsDV et al as that's exactly how I feel and I was worrying that I was just a grumpy old cow. Someone mentioned people travelling miles to help search: I heard a bloke interviewed who'd come 100s of miles to do this, only to be told that it was police only. And he sounded really put out! Like he'd been deprived of his moment. I half expected him to say he was going to report it to the PCC.
Re Diana: we were invited to a wedding the day of her funeral. People were 'shocked' that a) we went to it, & b) that the couple hadn't cancelled the wedding!

I caught a bit of Sky News earlier and that awful Kay Burley was asking someone or other how the police could go about conducting their search at the same time as making all the volunteer searchers "feel included".

FFS. Why should the police, who have rather better things to do, give a flying fuck about making anyone feel "included"? It's almost as if some people are just determined to "show they care" even when they've been asked not to come.

No disrespect at all to everyone local who was out on the first night - but people who come from far and wide are a hindrance not a help.

It was obvious from the police forces's later statements that the hangers on were causing a nuisance.
They were tactful but it was clear these people who just wanted to be a part of history were getting in the way.

I had sky news on earlier and behind the reporter was a young blonde woman on her phone smiling and chatting and looking over to the camera.

Sickening really.

I'm not shy or nervy. I never said I was. I worry and am anxious where my loved ones are concerned. I am not diagnosed.

Gosh, are you all watching it 24/7? If there were no audience, no one would play up to it.

Um, no, I'm not watching it at all. The man I referred to was on the R4 Today prog, which I have on when getting ready in the morning.

Sky news keeps rolling whether I deign to view or not.

It's on the news now. I am not going to turn it off.
Well I might if they carry on in this style.

The pink ribbons are nice. Something the family have asked for.

I didn't mean to include the community and those with local knowledge in my earlier post btw.
It's the tourists I am talking about.

If you are like this when he's just going to nursery,I feel sorry for the school that he will eventually go to. Will you be one of the parents who will make their child stay in school while the rest of his class/year go on a school outing, because you will not be able to police everything? Sounds like you don't trust anyone .
No matter how safe you think something is,there is always the chance of something freakish occuring. It is life. Horrendous if it happens to you, but it is not something you can necessarily have control over.
Children are growing up with no common sense, because adults are thinking of and attempting to eliminate all the "dangers", so that there is no need to think about those dangers themselves.

Kay Burley is an arse she was talking about April in past tense today :(.
I think I know what you mean op sometimes I get a little anxious and want us all to stay home and have a duvet day.

get a grip

This kind of thing is, thankfully, incredibly, incredibly rare.

On average, 11 children (under 16) a year are abducted and killed by someone other than a family member. There are 12 million children. Your child therefore has less than a 1 in a million chance of being taken and harmed in this way - you're almost as likely to win the national lottery main jackpot, in fact.

I know it's terrifying, but given 126 under-fives died last year from being scalded by the hot tap in their own homes, I think a sense of proportion is essential.

Now that jamdonut I might agree with. I am (and probably will be) 'one of those' parents. I think I am a bit of a control freak with my children.

Don't need to control or 'police' any other area of my life though.

You feel sorry for a school?

I hasten to add that I very much hope it goes without saying that I am also praying April Jones is found safe and well. But the OP is fairly plainly scared that her child won't. That's the fear I am addressing.

And you can IMO harm a child a lot by not allowing them to take slow, incremental steps towards independence, which at this early age means time away from you. I saw some very vulnerable, reckless, dangerously innocent kids at university, whose parents had smothered them all their lives before releasing them, completely unprepared, into independent existences.

And you can IMO harm a child a lot by not allowing them to take slow, incremental steps towards independence, which at this early age means time away from you. I saw some very vulnerable, reckless, dangerously innocent kids at university, whose parents had smothered them all their lives before releasing them, completely unprepared, into independent existences.

Woohooo. Another sensible person. Yep, I am fed up of reading about all those helicopter parents that don't allow their kids out at 10/11. I mean REALLY.No wonder we have a bunch of socially inept kids.

One graduate recruitment company was interviewing for graduate postions in London, and he had 3 refusals to attend the interview, cos the interviewees had no idea how to get there......

I rest my case.

Whatever does the abduction of that poor little girl have to do with disorganisation at your son's nursery? April wasn't at a nursery. If you're not happy with his nursery, then speak to them about it.

YABVU for all the reasons above.

YABU.Yes its upsetting but nothing will happen to your son in nursery as they are very strict and don't let randoms take children out.This is why they have passwords.

Firstly those who are saying "get a grip" why dont you take your own advice. theres no need to be horrible is there? Try be adult?
I have worked in nurseries for 8 years, all different ones and i can tell you i will NEVER send my child to one! Thats a different matter. op i understand where you are coming from, times like this you want your loved ones close by. i dont think this is the op's way to turn the attention on herself and views like that are the views that are actually quite disturbing. i know some SICKOS do try and turn it on themselves but i think this was general concern. I really pray this little girl gets found and none of us ever ever have to experience anything like what her parents are going through :-(