PARENTS: A quick survey about age-appropriateness

aquila, you brought your son to life for us all there. Lovely little stories and rememberances about his childhood and your family interaction.
Madeleine has always been portrayed as  a two-dimensional child, a ghost child I call her. Kate says she's lovely, one Grandma says she could throw a tantrum, Gerry says she was loud. but no instances are given, no little stories of a time when this or that happened.
Kate also had a crying match when there were problems at the creche re the other parents and the media intrusion and she feared the twins would be banned and she might have to (God forbid) look after her kids herself.

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A bit off topic (sorry) but I'm putting this here - it's certainly possible to get an idea of what April Jones was like whereas Madeleine remains an almost total mystery.

At age 3 my daughter was still singing postman pat and songs from TotsTV (she loved the french character Tilly and as her nursery school taught basic french, she would always say Bonjour and Au revoir whenever she was talking to her gran on the phone)

She loved books and always had her bedtime story every night (complete with character voices) but her favourite was Little Bunny Foo Foo, she found the whole concept of a rabbit harassing field mice by bashing them over the head, hilarious...Don't know what that says about me lol. She started reading Harry Potter when she was 8.

She didn't watch tv after 6pm (she was having her bath, getting ready for bed after that time) so Doctor Who was never on the agenda, in fact we didn't really watch that much tv at all, apart from the kiddy programmes I previously mentioned. She enjoyed watching videos though and we had a large collection of Disney classics.

So no, I find Kate's description of her 3 yr old daughter's activities a bit strange and I would certainly say age-inappropriate. There's no way a 3yr old would have the attention span for Harry Potter, although I often wonder if that quote from Kate was taken out of context and she was actually talking about herself reading the book rather than Madeleine?

susible wrote:
So no, I find Kate's description of her 3 yr old daughter's activities a bit strange and I would certainly say age-inappropriate.  There's no way a 3yr old would have the attention span for Harry Potter, although I often wonder if that quote from Kate was taken out of context and she was actually talking about herself reading the book rather than Madeleine?

That is the whole point.
That is why Beatrix Potter wrote little stories that can be dealt with in one sitting.
All stories for the very young are like that.
Only later when their memory begins to develop do you move to longer story-lines.

And the contrast between that and what was said in the book - "I took them all into their bedroom. Madeleine got into her bed and then Amelie, Sean and I settled ourselves on top of it, with our backs against the wall, for our final story, If you’re happy and you know it!, another present to Madeleine, this one from Great-Auntie Janet and Great-Uncle Brian. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands! says the monkey. Stamp your feet! says the elephant.
If you’re happy and you know it . . . It seemed so fitting at the time. Madeleine was obviously exhausted and her head sank down on her pillow intermittently, although she did join in with the babbled responses of her little brother and sister. It’s strange the things you remember. Two pages at the end of the book are divided up into squares, most of them containing one of the animals featured earlier. Madeleine started to count these. She included a couple of the blank squares and I was about to point this out to her when I checked myself, realizing that she was counting the squares regardless of whether or not there was an animal inside. "

is a very stark one.
Here we are presented with wholly age-appropriate material, repetition, rhyme, rythm, and at age 3 the beginnings of counting.


Harry Potter ?   with a cast of
Bathsheba Babbling – Ancient Runes teacher at Hogwarts
Ludo Bagman – Quidditch Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps and Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports within the Ministry of Magic
Bathilda Bagshot – Author of A History of Magic, great aunt of Gellert Grindelwald.
Katie Bell – Gryffindor student one year above Harry Potter; Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. In her seventh year, she was cursed by a magic necklace.
Cuthbert Binns – Ghost, History of Magic professor
Regulus Arcturus Black – Brother of Sirius Black, a Death Eater who turned against Lord Voldemort and paid for it with his life.
Sirius Black – Harry Potter's godfather, Gryffindor student at Hogwarts, Animagus, Marauder, disowned for running away from home to live with the Potter family, member of the Order of the Phoenix, killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange
Amelia Bones – Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, aunt of Susan Bones
Susan Bones – Hufflepuff student in Harry's year, member of Dumbledore's Army
Lavender Brown – Gryffindor student in Harry's year, member of Dumbledore's Army, briefly Ron Weasley's girlfriend, mauled by Fenrir Greyback in the Battle of Hogwarts
Millicent Bulstrode – Slytherin student in Harry's year, member of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad
Charity Burbage – Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts during Harry's time at school, killed by Lord Voldemort in Deathly Hallows
Frank Bryce – Muggle gardener for the Riddle family, murdered by Lord Voldemort

and that is just the ones beginning with 'B'     -   Total rubbish. It is far too complex.   Also highlighted - far too bloodthirsty
Pussy Cat Dolls

I dig you, you dig me
We went as far as we felt like going
Took a ride, satisfied
We went as far as we felt like going
Had no restrictions, stop or go
Just killing time and took it slow

It was completely understood
A one night stand would do us good
We did mmm mama ma mama ma
Mmm mama ma mama ma
Oh how we did it

Not only total rubbish, but totally inappropriate.
Though this one is more to the point

How many times?
How many lies?
How long you been sneaking?
How long you been creeping around?
How many lies?
How many times?
Were you here deceiving
While I was here believing in you

I'm loving people's descriptions of their children on here -so funny and so real, I can just picture them! Poe, you're right, I haven't ever seen a description like that of Madeleine. I mean, my daughter is lovely too, and can throw a tantrum with the best of them! But those aren't the only things I could say about her!,

I suppose, trying to put myself in their place, maybe it would be hard to speak about my little one after such a thing had happened because I wouldn't be able to able to open my mouth without crying, but if I was writing a book, then I could tell all the little stories about her, and I would want to tell everyone how special she is/ was.

I just can't understand their behaviour if they really lived with and loved this child!

Sorry for any weird punctuation, my phone has a mind of its own.

annemab wrote:I'm loving people's descriptions of their children on here -so funny and so real, I can just picture them! Poe, you're right, I haven't ever seen a description like that of Madeleine. I mean, my daughter is lovely too, and can throw a tantrum with the best of them! But those aren't the only things I could say about her!,

I suppose, trying to put myself in their place, maybe it would be hard to speak about my little one after such a thing had happened because I wouldn't be able to able to open my mouth without crying, but if I was writing a book, then I could tell all the little stories about her, and I would want to tell everyone how special she is/ was.

I just can't understand their behaviour if they really lived with and loved this child!

Sorry for any weird punctuation, my phone has a mind of its own.

 annemab, I know what you mean that it could be very difficult to talk about.

I don't know about writing those memories down either though. In the event that the McCann's do not know where their daughter is, what use could an abductor make of them?

susible wrote:At age 3 my daughter was still singing postman pat and songs from TotsTV (she loved the french character Tilly and as her nursery school taught basic french, she would always say Bonjour and Au revoir whenever she was talking to her gran on the phone)

She loved books and always had her bedtime story every night (complete with character voices) but her favourite was Little Bunny Foo Foo, she found the whole concept of a rabbit harassing field mice by bashing them over the head, hilarious...Don't know what that says about me lol.  She started reading Harry Potter when she was 8.

She didn't watch tv after 6pm (she was having her bath, getting ready for bed after that time) so Doctor Who was never on the agenda, in fact we didn't really watch that much tv at all, apart from the kiddy programmes I previously mentioned.  She enjoyed watching videos though and we had a large collection of Disney classics.

So no, I find Kate's description of her 3 yr old daughter's activities a bit strange and I would certainly say age-inappropriate.  There's no way a 3yr old would have the attention span for Harry Potter, although I often wonder if that quote from Kate was taken out of context and she was actually talking about herself reading the book rather than Madeleine?

The Postman Pat reference reminded me that many, many years ago when my friend's daughter was about 4 years old, I happened to phone when the daughter was screaming the house down in the background, I asked my friend "why is J........ screaming, had she hurt herself", she said "no, they've just announced on TV that Postman Pat has been cancelled" and she's throwing a wobbly.

suzyjohnson wrote:

annemab wrote:I'm loving people's descriptions of their children on here -so funny and so real, I can just picture them! Poe, you're right, I haven't ever seen a description like that of Madeleine. I mean, my daughter is lovely too, and can throw a tantrum with the best of them! But those aren't the only things I could say about her!,

I suppose, trying to put myself in their place, maybe it would be hard to speak about my little one after such a thing had happened because I wouldn't be able to able to open my mouth without crying, but if I was writing a book, then I could tell all the little stories about her, and I would want to tell everyone how special she is/ was.

I just can't understand their behaviour if they really lived with and loved this child!

Sorry for any weird punctuation, my phone has a mind of its own.

 annemab, I know what you mean that it could be very difficult to talk about.

I don't know about writing those memories down either though. In the event that the McCann's do not know where their daughter is, what use could an abductor make of them?

If Madeleine had been abducted, all the little stories and anecdotes would humanise her. This would make it harder for the abductor to harm her.

Unfortunately, I think that the opposite is true. The McCanns do not want to humanise Madeleine because it is easier to rationalise what they did if she is a thing, an it, an inconvenience that needed to be dealt with.

My granddaughter was about 4 when I took her to visit my Mother who was in a care home. When we arrived she was about to play dominoes with a group of elderly ladies and they invited my granddaughter to play the game. She was well versed in playing dominoes and cards - courtesy of her Grandad !!!- so settled herself in, said that everyone gets 7 dominoes, dealt them out and asked "whose down is it"?
She won two games, stood up and did a little hop, skip dance and said "bye".
The ladies were entranced, my Mother was so proud and I've never forgotten it - she's nearly 16 now and still a gem.

But she couldn't read Harry Potter.

Casey5 wrote:But she couldn't read Harry Potter.

Or know the sexually explicit lyrics of popular ( ? ) songs.

Here is a long list of things said about Madeleine by those who presumably knew her --


Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:
Kate McCann: The Collection

Concerning the child's personality, she is extrovert, very active, talkative, smart and relates to other children with great ease. But she would never go with a stranger.
Kate McCann in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

"Please continue to pray for Madeleine. She is lovely."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 7/5/07

Q: Tell me about Madeleine. I know her picture, we all know her picture so well and she's a gorgeous, little, smiling image but she is, to us, an image; to you she's a real little girl. Tell us about Madeleine.
KM: Well, she's got bags of character, that's for sure. Errm... She's very loving, caring, she's very funny, very chatty, very engaging. Errm... She has her moments, like all children do, errm... but I do think she's pretty special.
KM: She's loud.
Kate McCann, ITN interview, 25/5/07

Mrs McCann said, smiling: “She likes talking, she really likes role play.”
Mr McCann joined in saying: “She’s very good at that actually for someone so young, she really can talk...considering that she was not even four.
“She likes activity and sport, she’s very active, even at home when we are going for a jog she says ’Can I come jogging with you mummy’?”
The couple looked relaxed as they spoke about Madeleine’s love of swimming, going swimming on Saturdays and of her favourite television programme - Dr Who as well as films such as Shrek and Finding Nemo.
Gerry and Kate McCann, Daily Express 26/5/07

"Madeleine has the first three Harry Potter books and first three DVDs. Like most other children the world over, she loves the stories."
Kate McCann, BBC News 16/7/07

Kate reveals Madeleine had been practising a dance at the club which she was looking forward to showing her mum the following day - "but I never got to see it".
(..) Kate now wears a silver locket round her neck with a picture of Madeleine inside and the words "Tower of Strength" engraved on it. She says a friend gave it to her because "that's what Madeleine was to us, a tower of strength".
(..) Conscious to speak of her in the present tense, she adds: "Despite her small size she just has this huge presence. She brings a lot of joy."
Kate McCann, Sunday Mirror, 5/8/07

She revealed that as she tucked Madeleine into bed that night, the little girl said: "Mummy, I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 5/8/07

In her interview Mrs McCann paints a vivid picture of her daughter as a sociable and funny child.
She said: "She has a lot of personality and her name actually means 'tower of strength'. But she hated it when we called her Maddie - she'd say, 'My name is Madeleine', with an indignant look on her face. I bet she's giving whoever she's with her tuppence worth."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 13/8/07, quoting from the ‘Woman’s hour interview.

K- We had a super week. We came with a group of friends who themselves have children. Ours had more small friends. There was this club for children with lots of activities. They spent there great moments.
G.- Madeleine, in particular, has a lot of fun. One day, she even did sailing with the club.
K- She played tennis.
G- In the evening, adults stood together and the children were on their side. It was fun sometimes to hide and they were pursuing us.
P.M- How was Madeleine during these holidays?
K- She is very intelligent, very sociable and engaging. She loves to talk, she is funny, she has a lot of energy.
G- She is still very active, she loves to organize everything, she is very good in the role-playing. At the day nursery of the hotel, she loved to organize things… For her age, her vocabulary is very good, better than mine! She understands a lot of stuff, she twigs quickly, she is very perspicacious.
Kate and Gerry McCann, Paris Match, September 2007

Kate McCann complains frequently that her children are "hysterical" and says that Madeleine is a hyperactive child who tires her out to the point of despair.
First Post, quoting Correio de Manha 14/9/07

Missing Madeleine would run around 'screaming...shouting for my attention', the mother-of-three said.
In an interview given to a Portuguese magazine before she was named as a suspect in the case of the four-year-old's disappearance, Kate also said the first six months of Madeleine's life were "very difficult" and that the girl had suffered from colic.
Speaking about Madeleine's upbringing, Kate, a 39-year-old GP, told Portugal's Flash! magazine: "She cried practically for 18 hours a day. I had to permanently carry her around."
This period explained "the strong bond between mother and daughter", she said.
Although the arrival of the twins Sean and Amelie shook up Madeleine's life, she accepted them very well, said Kate.
"She managed to deal perfectly with this new reality, although she herself at the time was still a baby.
"The worst thing is that she started to demand lots of attention, especially when I was breast-feeding them.
"She would run up and down screaming in the background, shouting for my attention”.
Kate McCann, Daily Mail 17/9/07, quoting Portugese magazine Flash

“As Madeleine’s mummy I feel in my heart that she is there. I don’t know how anyone could harm anyone as beautiful as Madeleine. I don’t mean her appearance. I mean as a beautiful person.”
The mother of three, who has spoken of her desire to be involved in childcare, became emotional towards the end of the questioning, recorded yesterday, as she talked personally about her eldest child.
“I feel sad and I feel lonely and our life is not as happy without Madeleine,” she said, adding: “I feel anxious she is not with us.”
Asked about the last time she saw Madeleine, she said: “She was very happy and very loving and I know Madeleine was very happy with her life. She is special.”
Kate McCann, Daily Express 24/10/07, quoting from the Antena 3 interview.

And Kate tells movingly how the little blonde girl was more like a best friend than a daughter - and reveals how she tortures herself by trying to imagine how Madeleine looks now she is approaching her fifth birthday.
Kate McCann, the Mirror, 30/4/08

Always referring to Maddie, who is five in May, in the present tense, she describes her as "very loving. She’s a very bright little girl.
"I had days when I’d go to a cafe with Madeleine and we’d go shopping together and she’d say, ‘Oh mummy, I like that top,’ or ‘Oh, I love your earrings, mummy’.
"She’s good company, she’s like my — you know, she’s like a little buddy to me."
"She was great with Sean and Amelie. "Even when they were born, you know she just stepped into the role really well, considering she was only 20 months when they were born, and she wanted to be involved and help. As they got a little bit older, because the age difference was so close, they just played so well together."
Kate McCann, ITV1 documentary 30/4/08

She recalls: “She just very casually really said ‘Where were you last night when me and Sean cried?’ And we immediately looked and said, you know ‘When was this Madeleine, was this when you were going to sleep?’ and she didn’t answer. “And then she just carried on playing, totally undistressed.”
Kate McCann quoting Madeleine in the Liverpool Echo, 30/4/08

unquote

Perhaps someone can go through it with a highlighter - mine isn't working very well at the moment, must be the heat.

Amanda Seyfried reveals she first watched porn as a child: ‘It was funny ... but also so, so, so wrong'

The actress, who plays porn star Linda Lovelace in the upcoming 'Lovelace,' admits to observing adult movies at an extremely young age.

While that may not be the case entirely, the 27-year-old actress did confess that her first encounter with porn was way before anything close to an appropriate age.

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i have participated many survey's which are related to travel, parents survey, mcdvoice and other surveys. But this survey will be best survey i have ever partcipated

Although I believe that age appropriateness is highly subjective and can vary across different global cultures, but I personally don't believe "Who" is suitable for a 3 year old.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]