First Aid Training For Kids: 5 Points to Consider

Kids first learn about safety when told by parents not to touch a hot stove. Kids have an amazing capacity to learn new things. So you need to teach them from a very young age about safety and what to do when emergencies arise.

Accidents and emergencies are frightening to adults, so how much more for children. They come as a surprise and therefore it becomes difficult to react properly. However, with a little knowledge and planning you can avoid a big disaster. Children are prone to accidents. Though they are young they can protect themselves and others by some simple measures. It is always better to discuss first aid with your kids rather than waiting for an emergency to happen first.

Five points to consider while teaching your kids about first aid:

• Talk about First aid: First of all, you need to talk to them about safety and fist aid. The basics of first aid can be adapted so that your kids can understand them however old they may be. There is no need to go into details. Talk about situations they may encounter in everyday life like bruises, cuts, choking, etc. In the end, make them tell you what they learned so that you can clear doubts and misunderstandings.

• Act it out: Make up a situation and act it out with your kids. Acting out helps to strengthen a kid's knowledge. Alarming and fearful situations can be dealt with while acting it out. It builds their confidence to be able to do the same thing when emergencies arise. Discuss how to respond in certain situations and allow them to practice on you or on dolls.

• Calling 911: A child should be taught to call 911 in case of an emergency. The first thing your child should do is call 911 before attempting to help the victim. Teach your child to use the phone and what numbers to press. Explain to your child what situations constitute an emergency, like someone passing out, choking, convulsing, and so on.

• Bleeding: Show your child how to control bleeding by applying pressure using a cloth or bandage and pressing it on the wound. Allow your child to practice bleeding control techniques on dolls.

• Breathing and basic CPR: Based on the age of your child, you can teach him the important points of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Instruct your child to check if the person is breathing and teach him to administer gentle breaths. A child should also learn how to check the pulse. All this information is to be given to a child who is old enough to understand and apply it. Therefore, parental discernment is necessary here.

The home is the best place to provide first aid training for your child. In familiar surroundings they learn faster. There have been many cases where little children have saved their parent's life by calling 911 for help when their parents became unconscious, all because that's what they had been taught.