When most of us were growing up, "stranger danger" was the cornerstone of child safety. Don't talk to strangers. Don't take lollies from strangers. Never get in a stranger's car.
It's still the first thing many parents think of when they worry about keeping their kids safe. But here's what decades ...
Help Kristi... my child came home and asked me what a "69" is, and I completely froze and I didn’t know what to say?
Kids hear things. In the playground, on the school bus, in group chats, in song lyrics, on YouTube and in game chats. Words like "69", "horny", "nudes" and "porn" get thrown around l...
Can I trust this family with my child for a few hours? Is this daycare actually going to keep them safe? What about a sleepover, is that a step too far?
If you've ever sat with questions like these and felt your stomach drop, you're not alone. Every parent I speak to, whether at a school hall or on...
I know how uncomfortable this topic feels for most parents. Suicide, self-harm and mental health are conversations we'd all rather not have to have with our kids. But avoiding them doesn't make our children safer, it just means that if these feelings ever show up, they won't know what to do with the...
Picture this.
You're at a family barbecue. Your toddler doesn't want to hug Grandpa goodbye, and you say, gently, "That's okay, you don't have to." Grandpa laughs it off, but you catch the look. The one that says soft parents raising soft kids. Later, over dinner, someone mentions your daughter "tal...
A few parents have come to me recently with a version of a similar story.
A grandparent giving their grandchild a treat, one they know will spoil dinner and says, "this is just our little secret."
A child’s teacher has personal opinions about a topic that they know parents might find upsetting and s...
For years, every time a childcare worker has been charged with offending against children in their care, the public conversation has followed the same script: shock, outrage, calls for "better vetting," and then silence - until it happens again.
It’s a reasonable response but I don't think that scrip...
By now you've probably seen the headlines. A childcare worker in Sydney, now publicly named after a court-ordered suppression was lifted, is facing over 300 charges relating to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children across more than 60 early education centres, spanning 16 years of employment....
There's something special about caravan park life. Kids run free between vans, best friends are made in an afternoon, and everyone leaves their doors - literally and figuratively - wide open. It's community in its purest form.
But it’s also not without risk and that's exactly why I built a clear set ...
Parenting doesn't come with a handbook. And if it did, I'm pretty sure none of us would have time to read it between the school runs, the tantrums, and the seventeen snacks a day.
But here's what I know - as both a mum and a former Detective Senior Constable who spent nearly a decade investigating ...
Â
Nobody told you this in your Certificate III. It wasn't covered in your diploma. It probably hasn't come up in your director training, your compliance review, or your team meetings.
But every time you interview someone for a role in your early childhood centre, you are making a child safety deci...
Can my child go to a sleepover? Is it safe to send them to daycare? Should I let them online? Can I post a photo of them on social media?
These are the questions keeping parents up at night. And I get it - the world feels scarier than ever. The headlines are relentless. The warnings are constant. A...
