Essential Skills You Can Teach Kids That May Save Lives

You never know when a medical emergency will arise and the only person able to help is a child. Even very young children can be taught to handle an emergency: dialling 000 and executing a version of CPR that could save a life.

Photo by John Trainor

Recently, nine-year-old Tristan Saghin used CPR to save his two-year-old sister Brooke after she had fallen into a pool. He first learned about CPR from the film Black Hawk Down and, spurred by Tristan’s interest in being a medic, his parents taught him CPR. That early training helped save Brooke’s life.

CNN reports that most children could be taught how to handle emergencies. Dialling 000 is the first step, but four-year-olds can learn to treat cuts and scrapes, eight-year-olds can be taught how to help choking victims, and, yes, nine-year-olds can apply CPR.

In fact, children as young as three could be taught one skill to help someone who isn’t breathing: pushing in the middle of the chest hard and fast.

The article provides examples of other emergencies a child can help with and other tips for teaching kids to respond to emergencies — for example, in water emergencies, you definitely want to train your child not to try to jump in to help.

Teach your child to save a life [CNN Health]


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