OMG. Anybody just seen GMTV? 3 yr old girl abducted on holiday on the Algarve.

[tiredemma]

kate said reports just in, cant find anything on bbc.

bloody awful.

If journalists are already using Friends Reunited it is perfectly possible, given the slow speed of this case developing, that they will trawl further and come across this, making negative stories from selective comments on MN.

Well, of course website exchanges will be minded for useful material.

That was meant to read "mined".

Haven't been on MN all weekend, have been out and about and glued to Sky News following coverage on Madeleine.

Have just read most of the posts, and frankly, I thought it would be the case that it's turned into a debate/war of words.

As for pulling the thread, I don't know, perhaps it should be pulled.

All I can say on the subject, my personal opinion, is that when I heard that the parents had left the children in the room while they ate, I felt uncomfortable. I felt, and still do, that they are too young. At the very least, one or more of them could have woken and started crying and the parents wouldn't have been able to hear them from where they were seated.

I don't think anyone should be jumping on anyone, everyone is going to have their own opinion as to whether the parents were in the wrong or not.

We've all at one time or another made parenting decisions, perhaps took a risk, and then looked back and thought that perhaps we should have acted differently. Maddie's parents took a risk and are now paying the ultimate price. They will live with this forever. Even if Maddie comes home, which please God she will, it will still haunt them.

My heart goes out to them. I just hope there's a happy ending to this, that little Madeleine turns up safe and well.

This kind of speculation is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier posting. Fine, say if YOU personally would or would not leave a child in a room while you ate close by. Please don't cast aspertions on the particular family in question because, as far as Im aware they DID have a baby monitor with them on that night and could hear the children. As I also said, I dont know about Madeleine's mother, but close friends of the family DO come to this website for advice and support - that is a fact.

they are watching the thread but not ready to pull it yet

I don't know if the thread should be deleted or not tbh. I know my friends expect this kind of talk from certain quarters but possibly not mumsnet. All Im saying is that I feel upset that close friends are basically being criticised by people who do not really have the full facts. I was there and I do not have the full facts. I'm not against discussion and I admit that this experience will probably change some of my own future parenting decisions. Discussion and debate is healthy and may even have positive effects in the future BUT while people can obviously speak out about what they personally would or would not do or similar situations they have been in, I feel people should be very careful when judging this very critical situation without full knowledge of what exactly happened - or worse - untrue reports which have emerged. Perhaps I am over sensitive as have been travelling home all day and obv spent the last 2 nights without much sleep, watching my ds.

Baysmum

easy easy to be smug

easy to say "i would never do that "

i tell you have ALL been open to having your child abducted by a sinister determined child abductor

ALL of you.

the poor parents have done nothing, taken no risks that you ALL have not done

stop being so F**NG sanctimonious and pray for that childs
safe return which sadly seems increasingly unlikely.

her poor parents, can you not imagine, feel for , their anguish??

I repeat , every every parent takes risks every every day.....

Delete it.

It doesn't actually matter whether they were right or wrong or the exact details of how what happened has happened, all that matters is a little girl is missing

Poor little thing will just want her Mum and Dad, love her, I hope she is reunited with her parents soon.

We have talked about these sort of issues so often before on MN and had quite heated threads, and I would usually have taken the risk that this family is reported to have taken, before this happened.
Obviously, my feeling has changed now

I so hope there is news soon, its so much harder to think about at night, poor poor girl

Please do not be judgemental, no one is a perfect parent. We were there last week, at the Mark Warner Club in Praira de Luz, with our daughter who was with Maddy in the Mini Club.

We commented on how "safe" the area felt, but on Thursday night the big bad world came to our safe haven. Please just pray that for whatever reason she was taken,Maddy is being kept safe and sound and will soon be returned.

All the parents there knew, that, but for the grace of god, it could of been their child. Were we all watched?

Many searched all night on Thursday and Friday, no one slept on Friday night. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but when you are part of the press hysteria, helicopters whirring in the sky and sniffer dogs barking and see the torment of the parents and friends,fear sets in.

We are safely home, but that doesn't stop the anguish that all the Mark Warner guests feel for the McCann family.

Mark Warner were brilliant and the nannies exceptional, they see the children every day and must grow close. They are now caring for the McCann twins, family and friends.

The message board should stay, just so everyone can pray and send good vibes to that little girl somewhere alone in the Algarve. Hug your children and keep them close.

i don't think they were wrong at all. we've used a baby listening service where the kids were checked every half an hour. no different at all.

my heart goes out to them

they are lucky ... ok not lucky, but you know what i mean, that all 3 of them didn't disappear.

haven't been keeping up on this very well so sorry if this has already been asked but when they found maddy missing were the twins still asleep?

I don't think that's been mentioned, na.

I just had a look at the Sky website and saw the piece about the parents going to the Mother's Day service today. All the mothers are given flowers which they then give to Mary - one of the children in the congregation gave flowers to Madeleine's mum

First and foremost, let us hope that the Portugese police are right and that Madeleine is alive.

On the parent's actions, I never left my daughter in a similar situation although I did take her to Sharm El Sheik 2 months after the bombings there (a difficult decision) but she had a brilliant time and thankfully we all returned home safely. We all make conscious decisions about our children's safety and often taken actions unconsciously, without taking every 'what if' into account. In this case, the parents were nearing the end of their holiday, they had left the children before to go out to eat and probably felt more at ease the more they did it. Ironically, their sense of security gave the pervert the one in a million chance they needed to abduct their child.

The only guilt that should be apportioned is to the person/people who have carried out this terrible, terrible act

lizmoo and baysmum Thanks for taking the time to post on here as I imagine it wasnt high on your list of priorities right now. Hope you and your children are ok.

lizmoo and baysmum - this must have been horrendous.

I keep waking up in the night an wondering if there is any news. Wondering about that poor child and not being able to get back to sleep. God only knows how her parents are keeping themselves sane.

Lots of prayers here for them all.

Just read in the Independent today that certain internet forums in the UK were being critical of the parents in this case for leaving a child asleep in a locked room whilst dining a few metres away. I hoped that it wasn't Mumsnet - but of course it is. Outrageous. Poor bloody parents. It's irrelevant atm. And for what it's worth I'd have done the same. You can't plan for every unlikely eventuality otherwise you'd never leave your child's side.

It could be any of the sites

It could be , but if the cap fits ....

fgs - do none of you ever leave your child's window open slightly at night? do you all stand over the bed all night?

Do none of you ever let your child play in the park/playground whilst you sit on a bench a few metres away?

Do none of you ever leave your child with a nanny/childminder who may let your child out of their sight?

I think you all need to get off your high horses and have some respect.