Content warning: This episode discusses child abuse and may be distressing to some listeners. Please listen with care.

In this urgent episode, we’re joined by former Detective Senior Constable and child safety expert Kristi McVee, to unpack how we can better protect children in today’s world - at home, in care, and online.

Kristi spent over a decade in the WA Police Force as a Specialist Child Interviewer before founding Child Abuse Prevention & Education Australia (CAPE-AU). She’s also the author of Operation KidSafe, a powerful guide for families navigating child safety.

We discuss the devastating case of Joshua Dale Brown, a Melbourne childcare worker charged with over 70 offences involving the abuse of at least eight children — some as young as five months — across 20 centres between 2017 and 2025.

We cover:

- The system failures that allowed this abuse to continue unchecked.

- Sleepovers, school camps and other tough safety decisions.

- The risks of sharing children’s photos online.

- How Kristi’s background as a detective shapes her own parenting choices.

- Practical strategies every family can implement to keep kids safe.

This is a confronting but essential conversation about turning fear into informed, protective action. Kristi offers clear, practical tools that every parent, educator, and caregiver should hear.

Connect with Kristi on socials at @kristimcvee.

Buy her book Operation KidSafe: A Detective’s Guide to Child Abuse Prevention and go to her website Child Abuse Prevention & Education Australia (CAPE-AU) or www.kristimcvee.com

From the episode: 10 Body Safety Books Every Protective Parent Should Own

Connect with the show on socials at @jana.firestone and watch FULL video episodes on YouTube at The Curious Life Podcast.

Thank you to our wonderful engineer/producer Sam Talbot, as always!