Madeleine McCann info shown before Shrek, anyone else cross about this?

[WideWebWitch]

I was. I have chosen NOT to tell my nearly 4yo about this. I haven't discussed it in detail with 9yo ds either I CHOOSE not to put the news on in our house. I really resent this being shoved at my children before a U cert movie. Completely inappropriate imo.

I think anyone who thinks it is worth making your children too terrified to go to sleep, to take away the warm security of their own bed, in their own home, with their own family, for the infinitesimal chance of being snatched from their bed - a much, much smaller chance than just about anything you can think of, including having something fall off an aircraft and kill them, I'd guess - is mad.

i can move my children from bed to bed, fast asleep and they dont wake.

maybe madeleine didnt wake and didnt scream.

To add,
my children are not worried about going to bed, going on holiday, going to the supermarket etc as some of you cannot understand the message in my thread! I have of course told them it is rare and most likely will not happen to them or anyone they know. The education children need is how to react to what a stranger may say to them to gain their cooperation and get them to go with them. It seems totally natural that children should be aware of real life events and situations that could quite easily happen to them whether it be road safety or stranger danger!
Im not thick - i havnt DISTURBED my children, they just heard of madeleine and asked questions what am i to do? hide them from the issue or be truthful and honest?

Oh for gods sake.

"OK darling. Now one day, a nasty man or woman might come into your room when you are asleep. They might put something over your mouth. They might drug you. I need you to know that is BAD in case it ever happens.

OK? Nighty night. Sweet dreams!"

Oh is this kicking off now...I see the rational debate has ended.

Popcorn anyone

[Puts head in hands like enid]

You haven't disturbed your children? Are you sure?

mu eldest knows a little girl went missing and people are looking for her because someone sent up yellow ribbons on their fence down the road.

she does not now she was taken from her bed when she was asleep. she does not need to klnow this information.

dd's all aware of stranger danger.

and have the hugest amount of sympathy for the maccann family.

haychee - did you use the words "snatched from her bed" when you told your children? Did you let a cinema advert inform them? Or did you exercise your parental right to educate and inform them as you see fit?

haychee - hide the truth from them

Wearing a yellow ribbon, loving the cinema ad, displaying posters in your car and house, talking endlessly about the McCanns, telling anyone who will listen that you would do anything to find that little girl, going over it with your children so they are left in no doubt what has happened

all of these things are your choice - but they do not mean that you care more than me. Or anyone else that chooses not to do these things.

Competitive grieving at its very worst.

I would guess that haychee's children are every bit as sane and undisturbed as she is.

Do hope my comment about the posters didn't come across as 'competetive greiving' Enid!
The reason i mentioned it was to say how for the MacCanns i am but not this ad for children.

Perhaps we need a new Spot book. Just to make my DS 'aware'.

"Where's Spot? Is he under the bed? No! He's not anywhere! He's been SNATCHED from his bed by a nasty evil dog and he's NEVER coming back to his Mummy!"

I think I'll stick with my 'unaware' stance, thanks, haychee.

how will it help to make them totally aware haychee? so in the unlikely event that they do get snatched they can say to themselves 'oh this is what mummy told me about, i feel better now'.

sky news

My son is nearly four. He loves Shrek one and two. We contemplated taking him on his first special trip to the cinema to see the new film but I bottled out as I like to view films first before letting him see them. Not that he's ever actually been scared by any of the things I thought he would be but a mother hen does try to protect her chicks.

I would have been apoplectic with anger had he been subjected to this advert.

We have Radio 4 on all the time at home and he asked a few questions about this story when it was constant headline news. I was able to deal with them in a manner appropriate to his age and understanding. And in a manner that helped my ends as the mother of a budding runaway ...

I did not, and would not, tell a three year old that a child his age had been snatched from her bed while she slept and was presumed dead. It is a completely unsuitable message. A small child can do nothing to protect themselves from this (as has been said already).

It may be fine for a nine year old to know but not a three or four year old. Those of you who are so critical of the complaints about this advert seem to have forgotten this.

And in the unlikely event that my toddler was taken, I'd rather he knew as little as possible about the possibilities of what might be about to happen to him.

oh, and Haychee, I think the implied criticism of the McCanns by suggesting that Madeleine wasn't suitably versed in stranger-danger or she would have screamed etc. is in very poor taste.

I totally and utterly disagree!!
The news is everywhere - at the bus stop, in conversations, on the news everywhere! Go ahead and hide it from them - what does this achieve? My children are well informed and not at all disturbed! Im totally happy for the campaign to be shown to all - kids included - its how you deal with their qus=estions thats the issue that you need to consider! Of cousre i dont go on to them that someone is going to come in theor bedroom at night thats just a stupid comment to make! My point is, that kids are vulnerable and need education, not everyone is their friend!

haychee - have read your posts and personally I dont agree with your posts (I have managed not avoid this thread a fair bit). I think stranger danger should be age appropriate and taylored to the individual child. THerefore it is each and every parents right to decide when they broach this with their child.

I think that most mothers have a gnawing fear of something like this happening, of losing your child, or something terrible happening to them. Most of us spend a fair amount of time trying to keep perspective, be safe without letting that anxiety bubble over.

Sharing that anxiety with your children is in my opinion where the selfishness arises. You can make them aware of the things that they can change, but to terrify them with the things that they can't is damaging and emotionally incompetent.

Oh dear, this thread has gone nuts!

I guess if we are 'most read' on sky news though - the nutters will start filtering in.

I'm with WWW and Enid

So haychee - what have you told your children to do to protect themselves from being snatched from their beds?

Is the advert in question online anywhere?