SHARON OSBOURNE'S RIGHT - LEAVING BABIES ALONE IS INSANE!

I think Sharon Osborne has become the icon she is, because she will say exactly what she thinks.  It's hard to imagine that any 'D' notices or threats from Clarence Mitchell would put the wind up her.  She has no qualms in pointing out the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes, she is too feisty and unpredictable to be restrained by grey men in suits waving Writs at her - she would eat them for breakfast and spit out their injunctions. 

She is absolutely right of course, babies and toddlers should never, ever, be left on their own. And the danger wasn't 'stranger abduction', the danger was accident.  Every parent knows that toddlers are walking, talking, weapons of mass destruction.  They have no boundaries or sense of danger.  Turn your back for one moment and they will be eating the contents of the cleaning cupboard or putting lipstick on the dog. 

It is unbelievable that this large holiday party, that included six doctors, thought it was not only safe to leave their very small children on their own, but that it was socially acceptable in the UK.  And the UK MSM picked up on it - 'We ALL do it', gushed luvvie TV presenters and newspaper columnists, making child abandonment a traditional British custom along with football hooliganism. 

Those condemning the practice of leaving babies and toddlers alone in strange environments (or indeed, any environment) were labelled 'haters' and 'pitchforkers', devoid of compassion, they were the worst of humanity unleashed.  And in fairness, the tapas group's half arsed form of childminding had worked perfectly well for 5 nights running.  If what happened, hadn't of happened, as Kate would say, they could have been role models for parents everywhere. 

The McCanns were of course completely blameless, they could not possibly have foreseen the one in a zillion chance that a predator, who looked exactly like Gerry, would break into their apartment and steal a child.  Presumably when they ticked the boxes of their risk assessment the chances of the children climbing out of their cots, exploring the strange apartment and swallowing mum's pills scored, or going up in flames: nil points.  Bizarre, and indeed callous, as six of them were doctors and must have spent some of their training in A&E.

The mythology that the ONLY danger to the 9 toddlers left on their own throughout that holiday, was stranger abduction, and the chances of that happening remain one in a zillion, took hold.  The message is, carry on regardless folks, go out with your mates, relax and enjoy yourselves, and if you do check on them, don't bother actually looking at them, pulling their covers back up, or planting a gentle kiss on their cheeks.  Listening at the window will suffice, if they are not actually crying, all is well and you can return to the bar, safe in the knowledge that you are a responsible parent. 

I am of course being ironic.  Sadly, there are some parents out there who will like the 5 nights in a row odds. They will dismiss all the worries and fears that plague every parent because they want to go for a drink with their mates.  Most mothers instinctively develop a heightened sense of awareness of all the risks and dangers that may threaten our young.  Women for example can hear at a higher pitch so they can hear their baby's cries.  Just as a mummy tiger will clear every danger from her cave, a human mother will be attuned to every sharp corner, every hob unguarded, any reachable unedible substance.  We are physically unable to switch off, many of us, I am sure, didn't sleep for years!

To pretend that the McCanns and the Tapas group did not endanger their children, is in my opinion, one of the most wicked lies in this whole wicked debacle.  Those little tots were not safe and secure for 5 nights!  They were ALL at the highest risk imaginable.   Not from stalkers, paedophile gangs or anguished couples seeking to adopt, but from being left home alone!  They weren't even in familiar surroundings, they were in a holiday apartment where the parents could neither see nor hear them.  One of the babies had diarrhea and vomiting - she could have choked, and listening at the window every half hour wouldn't have saved her.  Perhaps it's their collective 'there but for the grace of God, go I' mantra that holds them together. 

As for Sharon Osborne, she is now under fire from the McCann supporters, not that she will care.  The attacks on her parenting skills and on her children have already begun.  She'll ride it out, the proof is in the pudding, and she has much to be proud of.  As for the attacks on her marriage (low blow), if she is as clever as I think she is, she will always be the one pulling the strings, and her marriage will be what she wants it to be. 

Sharon is pointing out something that should have been an issue when news of this case first broke.  'Are there any lessons to be learned' Gerry is asked in one of his first interviews.  'Yes.  We didn't do anything wrong' Gerry replied.  And that's what the mainstream media went with.  I hope when this case finally reaches a conclusion, the 'authorities' condemn this tragically dangerous form of child minding as they should have done 9 ago.