Four months after her disappearance, the brother and sister of Madeleine McCann
still insist on leaving a plate of food out for the missing girl, it was
revealed yesterday.
Two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie often ask parents Gerry and Kate to lay a
place for their older sister at meal times at the villa where they are staying
in the Algarve.
The toddlers have also refused to unwrap some of the many presents from
well-wishers – including a jigsaw and cuddly toys – so they can give them to
Madeleine when she comes home.
The poignant image emerged as the McCanns, from Rothley in Leicestershire, turn
their attention to returning to the UK.
The lease on their rented Portuguese home runs out in mid-September and soon
they will have to make a decision about how long to stay.
They are reluctant to leave until the results of forensic tests undertaken last
month are known.
Two weeks ago, they finally told Sean and Amelie that four-year-old Madeleine
was missing and that “mummy and daddy were looking for her’’.
The couple, both 39, have done their best to make life as normal as possible,
taking the twins to the creche in the morning and swimming or going to the zoo
in the afternoon.
But despite the routine, Sean and Amelie are keenly aware that Madeleine is not
there.
A family friend said yesterday that the twins recently set aside a plate of
pasta salad for their sister as they enjoyed their own food.
“It has happened on a number of occasions – not every night.
“The kids love potatoes, meat and sweetcorn. Sometimes when given a plate of
food, they will say 'this is for Madeleine’. It always comes from them.”
The McCanns have regularly taken advice from child psychologists about how to
tell Sean and Amelie about their sister’s disappearance.
Originally they told them she had gone on a “short holiday’’ but have gradually
introduced the idea that she might not be coming home.
The family’s spokeswoman said: “They have taken professional advice right from
the beginning about how to handle this with the children.
“They are loving parents and take their parenting responsibilities very
seriously. They would never do or say anything that would cause them distress
or hinder their development.
“They have handled it extremely delicately over the four months, using careful
language appropriate for their age given to them by experts to help the
children understand why Madeleine is not with them.”
But in Portugal,
there was criticism of their decision to tell the twins about Madeleine.
Clinical psychologist Louis Villas-Boas, director of children’s refuge Aboim
Ascensao in Faro, told local newspaper Diario de Noticias that the couple had
made an “error”.
He said the toddlers would have “no comprehension of what the disappearance of
a person means” and should not have been told until the age of three or four.
“It is not necessary to use an adult language to communicate to the twins a
situation which is strange or foreign to them,” he added.
Yesterday, Mr McCann asked holidaymakers to continue putting up posters for
Madeleine even though the couple is trying to play down their own role.
The cardiologist said they had been advised by the National Centre for Missing
and Exploited Children that any signs highlighting Madeleine’s disappearance
increased the chances of her being found. |
