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| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| Note for all parents | |||
| http://www.nspcc.org.uk/helpandadvice/parentsandcarers/homealone/homealone_wda35965.html | |||
| Leaving children at home alone | |||
| What the law says | |||
| There is no law that states the minimum age that a child can be left alone. However, it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so puts him or her at risk. | |||
| How do you decide if you can safely leave a child alone? | |||
| There are many important things to consider before you decide to leave a child alone. These include: | |||
| the age of the child | |||
| the child's level of maturity and understanding | |||
| the place where child will be left | |||
| how long the child will be left alone, and how often | |||
| whether or not there are any other children in the household. | |||
| For example, most parents would think it's OK to leave a 16-year-old alone for the evening, but to leave them for a week would be unacceptable. | |||
| Many young children play outdoors with other children without a parent or carer being present. As they are unsupervised, they are 'alone', but most people would agree that this is an important part of growing up. | |||
| You are the best judge of your child's level of maturity and responsibility. | |||
| A few other points to guide you: | |||
| Never leave a baby or very young child alone at home, whether asleep or awake, even for a few minutes. It doesn't take long for unsupervised young children or babies to injure themselves. | |||
| Most children under 13 should not be left for more than a short period. | |||
| No child under 16 should be left overnight. | |||
| If you do leave a child alone, remember: | |||
| If possible, leave a telephone number where you can be contacted, and be available to answer it immediately. | |||
| Talk to your child about keeping safe at home and point out the potential dangers. Tell them not to answer the door to strangers. | |||
| Give clear instructions about what to do if there's an emergency. All children left alone should be able to phone the emergency services. | |||
| Leave a list of trusted people they can contact. | |||
| Put obvious dangers out of reach of children, eg medicines, chemicals, matches, etc. | |||
| Make sure that the child is happy about the arrangements and confident about being left. | |||
| Tell the child when you'll be back, and make sure you're back on time. | |||
| Talk to him or her about it afterwards. | |||
| Choosing a babysitter | |||
| When deciding to use a babysitter remember to: | |||
| Follow your instincts - if in doubt don't use them. | |||
| Ask for at least two references and contact the referees yourself. | |||
| Choose a babysitter over 16 years old. | |||
| Listen to your child. Talk to your child about any issue of babysitting that they are unhappy about. | |||
| If your child is unhappy about your use of a particular babysitter, find someone else. | |||
| Only use registered childminders. A list of local registered childminders can be found from your local authority children's information service. | |||
| If you need any further advice or information about leaving children alone, contact our Helpline on 0808 800 5000 at any time. | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Madeleine}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Madeleine}} | ||
Revision as of 15:44, 8 May 2007
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (May 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Disappearance of Madeleine McCann | |
|---|---|
| Parent(s) | Kate and Gerry |
Madeleine McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British toddler who disappeared on 3 May 2007 while staying in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve region of Portugal. Police believe she was kidnapped.. She is the eldest daughter of Kate, a general practitioner and Gerry McCann, a cardiologist.
Disappearance
Madeleine's parents had put her to bed and were dining 50 yards away with friends at a restaurant near the Mark Warner Ocean Summer Club, in Praia da Luz, when she disappeared from the apartment where they were staying. The parents had allegedly declined to make use of a baby-sitting service which would have left their children supervised while they dined. Kate and Gerry McCann were taking it in turns to check on their children. At approximately 21:30 WEST, Gerry checked on the children and they were all fine. At around 21:45 WEST the McCann's returned from the restaurant to find an empty bed and the apartment door and window wide open. Staff and guests at the complex searched until 04:30 WEST while police notified police on the Spanish border. Portuguese police Polícia Judiciária said on May 6 that they had a suspect in mind and believe the child is still alive in the area. Police with sniffer dogs are currently searching the resort village, which has a population of about 1,000. They have also alerted all airports in Portugal and neighboring Spain. Britain's ambassador to Portugal has traveled there to help the family.
She was confirmed to have been abducted on 5 May and, to date, remains missing. The case holds similarities to the case of Ben Needham, a British-born toddler who was abducted from the Greek island of Kos in 1991.
On 8 May, 5 days after her disappearance, Portugese police Polícia Judiciária admitted they were unsure whether Madeleine was still alive. Previously, they had maintained they were certain of Madeleine's well-being.
Appeals
Her father, Gerry McCann, said, "Words cannot describe the anguish and despair that we are feeling. Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come home to her Mummy, Daddy, brother and sister." A GB£100,000 reward has been offered by a colleague of Kate McCann for the safe return of Madeleine.
References
- "Holiday girl abducted, police say". BBC News. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Axel Bugge (6 May 2007). "Abducted girl's parents pray for her safe return". Reuters. Retrieved 6 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - Martin Fricker and Rod Chaytor (2007-05-05). "MADDY, 3 GOES MISSING. Agony as 3-yr-old vanishes from holiday flat". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Toddler 'abducted' during holiday". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "'Continue To Pray For Madeleine'". Sky News. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Police 'unsure' Madeleine alive". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)