Kristi McVee (00:00)
Hey there, I'm Kristi McVee former WA police detective, specialist child interviewer and Australia's leading child safety expert. Let me tell you a little secret. I don't know how that happened. Welcome to Ask Kristi. The podcast where I answer your real questions about child safety, body safety, grooming, and keeping your kids safe in a world that can feel really scary sometimes. Every episode, I take a genuine question from a parent sent in via DM or anonymously, and I answer it honestly from nearly a decade of frontline experience.
investigating child sexual abuse and abuse. No fluff, no fear, just real answers, hoping to give this information to as many parents as possible to keep kids safe. Let's get into it.
Kristi McVee (00:40)
Hey there, welcome to Ask Kristi I am so glad you are here. I wanna take a few minutes to tell you why I created this and what you can expect from it because I think context matters. Every single day I get messages in my DMs from moms, from dads, grandparents, caregivers, people who work with children and people who care about children. People who are worried, confused and scared or just not sure if what they're seeing is normal.
They ask me questions that they don't feel comfortable asking anyone else. Questions about grooming, about behavior they've noticed in their child, about adults in their lives that they don't feel are quite right, and about how to have conversations with their kids that feel impossible. And I answer every one of them because every one of those questions matters. Every one of those parents and people matter because behind that parent, that person is a child that needs that support.
But here is what I started to realize. If one parent is asking me that question, a hundred more are sitting with the same worry and not asking anyone. Not because they don't want to know the answers, because they don't know who to ask, because they're afraid of overreacting, because they don't want to seem paranoid, because the internet is full of information, but not a lot of it comes from someone who has actually sat across from a child who has been harmed and asked them what happened.
I have. For 10 years I was a West Australian police officer, a specialist child interviewer and a child abuse detective and that was my job to sit across a table and interview children who had been abused. And now my job is to make sure parents have the information they need before something happens. Not after like I did in the police but before. So that's what Ask Kristi is. Every fortnight I'm going to take real questions anonymously, always.
and answer honestly from my perspective as a police officer, a child abuse detective and a specialist child interviewer. It's my opinions, my thoughts, my beliefs based on what I've seen and what I know.
No sugar coating, no catastrophizing, just straight practical guidance from someone who knows this space inside out and has worked in it for 10 years.
Because the questions you're too afraid to ask out loud, they deserve answers because behind every question is a family and a child that deserves support. Let's get into it. Follow along. Hopefully you will learn something new and create greater awareness for you and your family and children.
Kristi McVee (03:07)
That's it for today's Ask Christy. If you've got a question you want answered, me a DM on Instagram or submit it via email to hello at ChristyMcVie.com. We'll keep everything anonymous. I read every single one and we will do our best to get back to you personally as well as sharing it with the community.
And if today's episode resonated with you, I'd love for you to check out my other resources at kristimcvee.com including my Operation Kids Save book or Conversations with Kids body safety card deck. Everything is designed to help you have calm, confident conversations with your kids about body safety. Share this episode with a parent who needs it and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. I'll see you next time.
