A child psychologist has warned the constant attention on Cleo Smith could be harmful to her health as Mark McGowan is slammed for visiting the four-year-old.
Michael Carr-Gregg said Cleo needed to be left alone so she can start to recover following her rescue from a housing commission property in Carnarvon, Western Australia, at 1am on Wednesday.
'I think (her) mum and dad are going to have to do a lot to shield her from her new-found notoriety, because I don't think that's going to be helpful,' he told The West.
'She's been through enough – she now just needs to resume a normal life.'
Dr Carr-Gregg warned Cleo could begin to withdraw and develop a fear for people after she was allegedly abducted from the Quobba blowholes campsite on October 16.
The Western Australia premier has been accused of adding to the growing attention after he decided to visit the four-year-old girl at her home on Thursday - a day after she was rescued by police.
A child psychologist has warned the constant attention on Cleo Smith could be harmful to her health as Mark McGowan is slammed for visiting the four-year-old
The Western Australia premier has been accused of adding to the growing attention after he decided to visit the four-year-old girl at her home on Thursday - a day after she was rescued by police
Body cam footage captured the rescue of Cleo Smith after police stormed a Carnarvon housing commission property on Wednesday
'I don't think there's any need for the Premier to be there,' former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone told ABC's The Drum.
'It's great that he wanted to wish her and her family well, but he could have done that via Zoom.
'My own view is that we should all butt out. I know we're all interested and there's an endless demand for information on this, but none of our interest comes ahead of the interest of the child and the family.'
Cleo has constantly been under the spotlight since her rescue - with photos shared of the little girl being admitted to hospital and later reunited with her family.
Broadcaster Zoe Marshall said she uncomfortable over the photo that showed Cleo in hospital just moments after she was rescued by police.
'Why is there someone taking a photo and sharing it with the world at all? What this little girl has endured. I just don't get it. Let her recover, be with her family, get the camera out of her face,' she wrote.
Mr McGowan said he and Cleo 'did a few high-fives' before he accidentally stood on one of the little girl's new Barbie shoes.
'I owe her a pair of shoes. But I gave her the two little police teddies which we named Cameron and Rod,' Mr McGowan told a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
'I am not sure that will stick, Cleo didn't seem too enamoured by the names.'
The teddy bears are named after Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde - the lead investigator into Cleo's disappearance - and Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine.
Sergeant Blaine was one of the four officers who was on the scene as Cleo was rescued from the delipidated Carnarvon home.
Mr McGowan said the youngster was 'bubbly' and 'sweet' during their encounter and eating an icy pole - the same treat she was pictured holding in hospital on Wednesday.
'She spilt it everywhere. She told me it was very, very sticky, which I believed,' he said.
Mr McGowan arrives at a press conference at Carnarvon Police Station on Thursday. He visited the four-year-old and her family a day after she was miraculously rescued from a locked Carnarvon house
Cleo has constantly been under the spotlight since her rescue - with photos shared of the little girl being admitted to hospital and later reunited with her family
A team of forensic police are seen at the home where Cleo was found earlier this week
'She was just delightful. It was a lovely experience to meet that little girl. She is just bubbly, friendly and sweet.'
When asked if Cleo was aware of the enormity of what had happened to her, Mr McGowan replied simply 'probably not'.
The WA leader said Cleo - whose disappearance from a remote campsite on October 16 sparked a mass police search and made headlines around the world - appeared to be a 'well-adjusted little girl'.
'She heard the school siren go off and she said 'That's my school.' She was talking about her dog. We just had a normal conversation,' he said.
Mr McGowan said the four-year-old had 'done a lot of sleeping and eating' since being reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon.
'She was a very bright, upbeat, sweet little girl... They have done a lot of lying around together, cuddling and connecting as parents do with their little daughters,' he said.
'They're a very humble family... and fundamentally decent, honest human beings - it's great to meet them and acknowledge what they've been through.
Police officer's guard the Tonkin Crescent house in Carnarvon, WA where Cleo Smith was rescued
The WA premier flew into the state's north-west on Thursday to give the rescued four-year-old teddy bears named after the police officers who led the search to find her
'They had no complaints - no demands. I said to them 'there's so many resources here to help you, whatever you need'. They weren't difficult at all.'
Speaking alongside the premier on Thursday, Sergeant Blaine said he didn't think Cleo 'was too keen' on naming a teddy bear after him or his colleague.
'Quietly while the premier was talking to the parents I tried to convince her she could call it Mark,' he said.
'It was really heartwarming to see her interacting and playing in the backyard and just being herself,' he said.
'I'm sure [the past two weeks] has had an impact but to see her behaving like a four-year-old girl should do, and enjoying being in the presence of her little sister and her family was nice.'
Superintendent Wilde meanwhile said Cleo was 'playing around and in great spirits' when he saw her.
Officials spoke of meeting the little girl after it emerged the man arrested over her alleged kidnapping was allegedly attacked by another prisoner inside a police holding cell.
On saturday an officer in full protective gear is seen at the home where Cleo was found
Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine was spotted leaving Cleo Smith's family home on Friday (pictured) after checking in on the four-year-old who was reunited with her family after 18 days missing
Sergeant Blaine paid a visit with fellow officers but sported a more casual look wearing a polo t-shirt and slacks (pictured)
Terry Kelly, 36, had only been at Carnarvon police station for a few hours on Wednesday when he was allegedly set upon by a prisoner.
That prisoner's mother told Daily Mail Australia her son was 'furious' when he discovered why Kelly had been arrested.
'As soon as he heard this bloke was arrested over that little Cleo, he blew up, beat him black and blue,' the woman said.
'I tell you what, he (Kelly) got a real hiding... my son had to be taken out in shackles, and he (Kelly) was taken for treatment... he was in a bad way. He is a big bloke but he really copped it'.
A spokesman for the WA Police Force said detectives would not be commenting on the woman's claims, but confirmed the man in custody had been treated in hospital for a range of injuries including some of self-harm.
Kelly was loaded into an ambulance outside the police station yesterday morning and taken to hospital for treatment.
A large white bandage was wrapped around his head.
Terry Kelly, a suspect in the kidnap of Cleo Smith in Western Australia, being taken to hospital
Cleo, four, was found by startled detectives in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a locked house in her hometown of Carnarvon, 18 days after she disappeared from a remote campsite while on holiday with her parents
WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch told Sydney's Radio 2GB the alleged kidnapper was returned to hospital on Thursday morning, but his injuries are not serious. .
Detectives used crowbars and battering rams to kick in the door and free Cleo about 12.46am Wednesday from a home just seven minutes away from where she lives with her mum Ellie, stepdad Jake Gliddon and baby sister Isla.
Remarkable bodycam footage captured the moment Cleo was rescued by detectives, with the brave little girl clinging to her savior
