It’s important for children to have some knowledge of the fundamental teachings of Basic Life Support skills, so they can help others who are injured or even save lives in emergency situations like cardiac arrest. Children are an eager audience and are receptive to learning the skills they need to provide first aid help to others. The age of the kids you teach will give you a sense of how in-depth the lessons should be, with general basics discussed for younger ages and more advanced BLS training taught to older kids and adolescents. In addition, there are several online resources that adults can access to supplement basic first aid training for children, including course materials, worksheets, interactive websites, and videos.
Why Children Should Learn Basic Life Support (BLS) Skills?
Teaching CPR and basic First Aid skills helps children gaining a strong knowledge of life-saving skills and give them confidence while dealing with any medical emergencies. The approach to BLS in infants and children for a single rescuer slightly differs for single rescues. Learning basic life support skills is essential, and there is rising pressure on schools to provide it as a necessary part of the school curriculum. In fact, CPR education has been implemented already in schools in many countries in the last decade.
What Age Should Children Learn CPR?
CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is just one of the many areas covered in the basic life support classes, but it is one of the most important. Therefore, we must equip more people with the skills, ability, and confidence to help. According to the American Heart Association, kids as young as nine can learn basic steps of CPR. It can double the survival rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Though many children at that age don’t have the strength to perform chest compression on an adult, learning this lifesaving skill will stick with them for the rest of their life.