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...
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 ...
Ā What to say when the adults you love are modelling the exact behaviours that put children at risk.
I want to talk about something that doesnāt get said enough.
The behaviours we most commonly associate with grooming and child sexual abuse - the testing of boundaries, the forced physical affection...
I recently spoke with a mother who reached out to me because her 5-year-old child had disclosed sexual abuse -Ā not from an adult, but from another 5-year-old child.
Letās just pause there.
Because this is the part no one warns you about.
No one tells you what to do when the harm doesn't come from...
Our kids will test us with the little things before theyāll trust us with the big things!
As a former child abuse detective, Iāve seen firsthand how crucial it is for kids to feel safe and supported by their parents, especially when it comes to difficult or dangerous situations. But hereās a truth...
Not all child sexual abuse physically hurts the childā¦ and not all children realise they are being abused!
Before you skip reading or get āickedā out by this topic, I need you to realise WHY knowing this information is so vitally important in helping our kids stay safe and reducing overall harm.
...
I remember when I was returning to work after my daughter was born and the emotional roller coaster I went through in finding an early childhood centre. I had so much mum-guilt in needing to put her into childcare that I cried for days.
At that stage, I was not even a police officer, I was just nee...
Iām going to be honest with you allā¦I have some regrets.Ā
If you havenāt read or heard my story, I joined the police when my daughter was just shy of 2 years old and became a detective not long after she turned 6 years old.Ā
I heard and saw A LOT of things that have fundamentally changed me as a p...
Have you ever replayed a moment where you wish you had spoken up and said something but at the time you didnāt know what to say or you were too shocked to say something?
Itās not easy to call out inappropriate behaviours, especially when it comes to other adults or family members, but when it comes...
I grew up in a blended family. My parents separated when I was a young child and I grew up with step-parents.
With that being said, there was a lot less blended families when I was growing up than there is now. Blended families are a much more normal family structure than when I was younger and the...
A child that does NOT feel safe will not disclose abuse.
At times I think we forget this FACT in our goals to protect and help kids.Ā
As a specialist child interviewer, I was very aware that the time and process prior to the child's interview was equally, if not more important than the actual inte...
