Nancy Cameron was missed - why are so many other children neglected?
Ever since Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem, one of the top 10 parent's nightmares is getting home to find that you are one child down.
Such a story has seeped out today, with 8-year-old Nancy Cameron being left behind at a pub after the Prime Minister and his family had been out for lunch with friends. Sam thought Nancy was with Dave; Dave thought Nancy was with Sam and when the Camerons met up back at home, she was with neither of them.
For anyone who hasn't gone through this, the sheer panic that grips you when you find one of your children has gone missing cannot be overstated. This is no paralysing fear; every cell in your body adopts commando status as you begin to marshal your response. I can remember the accompanying strangled, suffocating feelings when it happened to me - 12 years ago - as if it had been last week.
![David Cameron, pictured holding his daughter Nancy at a wedding in 2007, thought Samantha Cameron had all their children but she thought Nancy was with him](http://web.archive.org./web/20161010164223im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/11/article-2157441-138D60F7000005DC-928_634x732.jpg)
Parenting nightmare: David Cameron, pictured holding his daughter Nancy at a wedding in 2007, thought Samantha Cameron had all their children - while she thought Nancy was with him
For all of us who are reunited with our absent child, we later laugh with friends as we recall the circumstances, our panic, our relief. But each one of those children, missed for minutes, are the lucky ones. Not (obviously) because they weren't kidnapped, but because they were missed even when it was just a matter of minutes.
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This story contrasts starkly with the report from the NSPCC that last year saw the largest ever number of calls about child neglect. Twelve thousand contacts with them between April 2011 and March 2012 were reporting suspected neglect: children wandering the streets at all hours and for many hours; asking neighbours for food as they were hungry; being maltreated. These are children who could be out of the home for long periods of time with no-one knowing or even wondering where they were.
This is not a new phenomenon, but the signs are that neglect is rising. We know that once again times are hard, but it's too simplistic to blame poverty. Charities such as Christians Against Poverty have revealed that one in 10 families are in debt, but this is no reason for neglect - and it's an insult to the poor to imply otherwise. At the other end of the scale, ask any public school principal and they could tell you of wealthy families guilty of gross neglect: they pay the cheque for the school fees and consider that to be the end of their responsibilities.
The problem lies not in income but in the status of caring and parenting. Raising a child is the most important job that you can do, but it has become regarded by many as a second-rate, spare time side-show to the rest of your life. The reasons for this slide are complex and the decline has occurred over time, but essentially individualism has increasingly trumped sacrifice and responsibility. The media reporting today reflects the low priority we give to parenting. Statistics like "12,000 calls reporting neglect" should be top of the news hour, but they got a thirty second mention low down in a BBC summary.
We require nothing short of a culture change in Britain to raise the status of caring. A wholesale review of the tax, flexible leave and benefits systems needs to be combined with a high-level review of where we have undermined the different caring roles in society. Only then will we be able to begin to align the messaging and redeem our culture.
We know in our hearts that caring for another human being, whether they are old or sick or a young child like Nancy, is of essential importance - it's time our heads caught up so no one can be left in any doubt.