I think a lot of people leave their children in their rooms in the evening in these holiday resorts. The mark warner resorts usually offered a nanny listening service. This consisted of the parents leaving the children in their rooms, and every half hour a nanny (young person with a childcare qualification having a working holiday normally) would listen at the door. Thousands of people throughout europe used the system every year at MW resorts, and it is only after Madeleine disappeared the service was withdrawn. The MW resort where the McCanns stayed did not offer this service as the resort was around the village so too spread out, but you can see why the Mccanns thought checking on the children every half an hour was a good alternative.
I personally would not do this, but I realise thousands did, and I know lots of people who would think it was fine. I think in the Uk there has been a tendancy to accuse parents of wrapping up their children in cotton wool, and make out people worried about paedophiles are paranoid readers of red top newspapers. For all that british people are claiming British people never leave their children, the fact is tens of thousands used this nanny listening service, which provided less protection than the McCanns supervision did. maybe it is a case of people letting their guard down on holiday, or thinking "i am only a hundred metres away, what could happen?"
Also there is a cultural thing too, in some northern European countries (not the UK) it is still Ok to leave children outside shops in their prams for instance, or in cars whilst you pop into shops. I do not like this, but I have had friends laugh at me for this. My personal rule is that if you would not leave a fifty pound note in the same place as where you are leaving your children, then you should not leave the children there.
