Someone has to ask...

[Big Seany]

You lot are making such idiotic comments, makes me wonder how many of you actually know what it's like to have a child to look after. Never mind a toddler and twins!

The thing is though mate, most of us do have little 'uns! Me, Yoshi, Jebus for starters, I think AYB has one on the way, so we aren't just hairy palmed gf-less geeks - we are dads - and good ones at that. Well, pretty good ones.

[Widegoat]

All yous are acting so high and mighty it pisses me off. They are not, I repeat, NOT, the first parents to leave their children in the hotel room to go to the hotel restaurant. They were extremely unfortunate that some bastard decided to abduct their child.

You lot are making such idiotic comments, makes me wonder how many of you actually know what it's like to have a child to look after. Never mind a toddler and twins!

Don't think that the human tragedy is lost on "us" somehow. It's not the first case of it's type, nor sadly will it be the last - it is the disproportionate media representation that this case has that irks, coupled with the fact that the difficult questions surrounding the parents behaviour haven't been asked or answered.

This is largely because people care only about the story of a girl that's gone missing, not the humanity. I genuinely wonder about the intellectual fortitude of the types of people that have Madeleine’s face plastered on their car windows and places of work. It’s like they want to be part of some massive gossip club.

To answer your question directly I have no idea what I would do if my child went missing. I do know what I wouldn’t do though. I wouldn’t assume that the best person to represent me to the media is me.

[Swallow]

They should call Max Clifford!?

Agree with you, Widegoat. It seems the criticism of the media circus has in fact spilled over into unwarranted besmirching of the motives of the parents, though, at times.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I think what people are sick of now is the way this story has been shoved down all of our throats for weeks now. If anyone knew anything that would help the police, they would have said so by now. It's too late, that early window of oportunity is long, long gone. Nothing more can be achieved.

It's time for the media circus to move onto their next tabloid selling story while they ignore the real news taking place elsewhere in the world.

[Spagoli]

You said, in response to a question of being happy to hold judgmental opinions of the parents, that you justified your position because you had never lost your children. That hardly resonates compassion to me....

Its true though. I havent lost my child, when I go out shes by my side, in a buggy or on reins. When shes asleep I or the missus are in the house, don't get me wrong theres plenty of times it would have been more conveinient but if you have kids you have responsibilities end of story. On the human side no matter how good that meal was I dont think they now think it was worth it. This will probably detsroy their lives, its certainly changed it beyond recognition.

[Kotatsu Neko]

They're hardly parading themselves on tv though, they're desperately trying to do something, anything to find their child.

Are you kidding?! They're all over the TV, be it unveiling the latest mega poster, the latest fund raiser, or going to visit the head of a nut case institution in Italy with a long, long, long history of hiding child abusers and causing misery to children all over the developing world.

[kernow]

... Lets not bring our views on religion into this.

[Fibber]

I think people are missing the whole point of why they are constantly on television. Of course we know all about it in the UK. Of course it's all over the frigging News and papers 'til we're sick of them. But that's not the point is it?

They obviously believe that their kid is alive somewhere in Spain, Italy or somewhere like that. So they have to get the facts through to their TV in the hope that someone will see their kid, or put enough pressure on the abductors for them to release her. Of course, you could put too much pressure on the abductors to have adverse effects.

Big Seany, I know that some of you are parents. I'm one myself. And we all know that we're never perfect parents right? Sometimes, we don't know right from wrong and sometimes we make mistakes because it is NEVER easy. Some people want to appear as if they are perfect parents but under the surface, everyone is just as pressured, just as stressed and just as lost. It's all very easy to criticise other parents and say you would never do the same but in reality, you don't know that. A kid drowned in the bath the other day because his mum went to get his clothes from his bedroom and left him for a few minutes in the bath tub. She's been doing that everyday for months and nothing had happened. But just this once, this kid slipped and drowned. She's sick with guilt now and I'm sure some will dub her a bad parent. I've left my kid in the bath while I ran to get her clothes but luckily, nothing bad has happened to her. We all do **** like that. Take short cuts or take time out from parenting because it's more stressful than the most stressful job in the world.

[Yoshimax]

All yous are acting so high and mighty it pisses me off. They are not, I repeat, NOT, the first parents to leave their children in the hotel room to go to the hotel restaurant. They were extremely unfortunate that some bastard decided to abduct their child.

Yes - that's it - it's just pure bad luck.

You lot are making such idiotic comments, makes me wonder how many of you actually know what it's like to have a child to look after. Never mind a toddler and twins!

As Seany already said quite a lot of us do - Where do you get off coming into this thread calling us idiots ?

I sincerely hope they feel the full force of the law. UNDER THE LAW they have duties - They are called PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES. Under that law they must provide a SAFE environment for their children - They have failed in their duties.

Knock yourself out : http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/Parental

I don't care if you think they're "unlucky" - They facilitated the opportunity under which the child was snatched.

Meanwhile lots of other kids are going missing all over Europe - T'is truly awful that they are receiving next to no exposure in comparison.

[Fibber]

As Seany already said quite a lot of us do - Where do you get off coming into this thread calling us idiots ?

I never called any of you idiots. I called some of the comments IDIOTIC. Cleverest people can sometimes make the most idiotic comments.

By the way, that link, that's not the law. That's just guidance.

[Big Seany]

To be fair I can sort of see what Fibber is getting at - yes, we do take a few shortcuts - sometimes I leave Grace in the car when I pay for petrol (with the doors locked). Sometimes I leave her in the bath for a brief moment whilstI get her clothes or towel. Sometimes I leave her in her high chair eating her grub when I go for a piss. And sometimes she sits in her activity chair thing and watches telly whilst I have a cup of coffee and a ciggie outside in the morning.

We all take little shortcuts!

But the thing is, I wouldn't dream of leaving her alone in the circumstances that Madeleine was left. Think about it, dads. No matter how much you wanted that meal/beer/bit of peace and quiet/shag with the wife - you wouldn't do it. This is why there is an element of disbelief on this thread I guess, and why we are being a little harsh on these parents. I suppose the only thing you have to say is it is too late to judge them now, what is done is done and all that - and I am sure they are eaten up with guilt and "what ifs" and all the things that have probably been covered in this thread.

[peeveen]

I don't blame the parents for the lengths they are going to, or the things they are doing just to keep it in the news ... I would probably do the same if I thought it had even the tiniest effect on my chances of getting my kid back ... and let's face, it's working for them, cos we're all still talking about it: in a negative light nonetheless, but that's largely irrelevant to them.

If they had just went back home and wept, we'd all have forgotten about it two weeks ago.

[dataDave]

... Lets not bring our views on religion into this.

This is a whole new thread entirely, and one that deserves to be created.

One big thread where we rip into religeon. Bring it.

---

I mean, c'mon, seriously, does anyone here think the pope actually cares? What good is going to see him going to do?

My family is filled with many religeous nuts spanning several religeons. They will probably leave with some obsurd reasoning as to why 'God' took Maddy away from them.

Hundreds of kiddies die all over the world each day, wether it be from being fed to something, being worked/raped/starved to death or whatever. Just because they pray to God doesn't make their ****e smell any sweeter.

[kernow]

thats not a discussion is it though, you already said you'd just rip into it.

hell, you'd only bring FFXI into it somewhere anyway

[spagmasterswift]

thats not a discussion is it though, you already said you'd just rip into it.

hell, you'd only bring FFXI into it somewhere anyway

Fallows own religeon At least we can rip into that around here