Children are in the process of learning how to coordinate their bodies and they are naturally curious about exploring the world around them, hence accident-prone. Their immune systems are developing, and they can become very ill. Knowing how to do first aid on your child — or his friends — can save a life.

Whenever I hear about a tragic accident involving a baby or child on the news, my heart skips a beat. I’ve had a few scares with my girls that have caused my heart to drop into my stomach and panic to overtake my usual calm, go-with-the flow parenting style.

Taken By Surprise

Accidents and illnesses can happen in the blink of an eye with little kids. One minute your toddler is latched around your legs, and the next they find a box to stand on so they can climb a fence to go ‘paddle’ in the pool. Or they’re eating a cut-up grape and they forget to use their teeth and swallow it whole, only to have it become caught in their throat, and they’re unable to breathe.

I have often worried about what I would do in an emergency situation with my kids. I did a first aid course as part of my apprenticeship seven years ago, but I couldn’t recall what the right CPR method was, and I didn’t know when to apply CPR if I saw someone unconscious. I just hoped I’d never have to be in a situation where I’d need to use it.

I think we all hope we never do.

Nevertheless, it’s important to know what to do, so when I was offered the chance to do a Kids’ First Aid Course, I wanted to go. I needed to go because I wanted to know.

Life-Saving Skills

Those three hours were the most interesting three hours of First Aid I’ve ever done. I know how to do CPR and when to do it. I know what to check for when someone is unconscious. I know what to do if my girls choke or get burned or, heaven forbid, contract meningococcal disease.

I’m not afraid to trust my instinct as a mum and to call the ambulance if I know something is not right.

I’m not afraid to crack a rib if my baby (or someone else’s) is in need of CPR, and if you want to know why, you will need to do the course.

Visual Aid

Thankfully, if I need a refresher on what to do, I have a large poster on the fridge that reminds me what I need to do so that what I learned can come back to me. It’s good practice to get a refresher every couple of years, in case anything changes.

I learned so much, but not in an overwhelmed, I-will-never-remember-this, way. It was simple, easy-to-digest information that I know I will be able to draw on in an emergency. I know how to save a child’s life should I be put in a position that would require me to act.

I know that there must be other mums and dads and even grandparents who have wanted to do a kids’ first aid course and have put it to the back of their minds. I believe anyone who is around babies and children must do this course. It’s an $85 peace-of-mind fee that could potentially save a child’s life because you’re equipped to know what to do in an emergency.

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Originally published at The Plumbette. Photo by Pixabay.