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....
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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...
I spent nearly six years as a detective specialising in child sexual abuse investigations. In that time, I interviewed hundreds of children and sat across the table from the people who hurt them.
One thing was always true: the abuse didn't start with the abuse.
It started long before - with a proc...
Let me say something that might surprise you.
Not everyone who displays red flag behaviours will abuse your child.Â
But here's what I know from nearly a decade investigating child sexual abuse - everyone who abuses a child displays red flag behaviours first.
Read that again.
Red flags are not a ...
When is a child’s sexualised behaviour age-appropriate and when is it something we need to interrupt?
In Australia, the term used to describe sexualised behaviours between children that are inappropriate or problematic is Harmful Sexualised Behaviours (HSB).
For some adults, certain behaviours wou...
I received a message recently that made me think about all the times when I was still in the Police and I felt like protecting kids was an impossible task and being a Police Officer didn't help anyone.Â
I had many days where I I felt that what I was doing didn't matter. If I'm honest, I still have da...
Recent cases involving female educators and carers have understandably shaken people and forced many of us to re-examine assumptions about who we trust with our children.
Not because abuse by a female perpetrator is new - but because when a woman, particularly a trusted adult such as a teacher, har...
After years working as a detective with children who had been abused, I started noticing something.Â
It wasn't obvious at first but as time went on, certain conditions became consistently apparent.Â
Different families. Different ages. Different settings. Different offenders.Â
Some cases were adult-...
Grandparents hold a special kind of magic in a child’s world - they’re the storytellers, the biscuit-bringers, the soft landing when life feels hard. They’ve lived through decades of change and with that comes wisdom, love and a deep desire to protect the little ones who light up their lives.
But t...
A Guide to Keeping Kids Safe – Dad’s Edition
(Protection through prevention, not just reaction)
For generations, the role of “protector” has been stamped into what it means to be a dad. You stand at the gate, watching for danger, ready to fight if someone hurts your child.
But here’s the thing - if...
