Take a First Aid Class

Yes, I surely agree with you. Every parent must have at least a "Care for kids" first aid course. That is done by St John Australia. It is specificaly designed for babys to early teen. You learn CPR/EAR, that is Cardio Pulmonary Resusitation and Expired Air Resusitation PLUS lots of other handy stuff to know, how to stop bleeding, how to manage a fracture, how to manage choking etc etc. Whatever the cost, it is worth it. I was a St John volunteer for 15 years and all 4 of my kids were cadets ( junior members) First aid is second nature in this household, and the grownups families.

cheers from Butterfly1956

I recently  took one. In my area the goverment pay for them,(as well as baby massage, weaning etc) It was a 4 hour course but very, very good. You will be amazed at what you will learn and things you thought  you knew but didnt.

This is a great advice, especially for first time moms like me. I myself haven't taken one ... I'm ashamed to say. But I have signed up both my husband and I to a Infant & Child first aid & CPR class in August. I signed up through the Red Cross and it's an 8 1/2 hrs class on a Saturday at $65 a person.

The hospital where I delivered offers a 2 hour class, but the waiting list is very very long so I found the Red Cross one. I wonder why such a big difference in length? 8 hrs with the Red Cross vs 2 hrs with the hospital?

if you can fit it in, do the CPR one too!

I am waiting until my husband comes home from working on the road and then I will be taking that course. I think all parents should know everything about First Aid. It could save your childs life!!

I agree with you. Thanks

Actually my wife has used it.. multiple times.

Our second is not very good about chewing his food no matter what we try and has at least 2 times got something lodged in his throat which required back-thrusts.

Our youngest went through a stage of choking and gagging on EVERYTHING (thankfully she's outgrown it for the most part) when she started eating and has choked on some very small pieces of food you wouldn't necessarily think would be a problem.

Don't forget when you are in the class to find out what is your legal protection if you were to be at a party and somebody else's child begins to choke.  I know it's no fun to have to think about legalities when somebody's choking but knowing the laws may help protect you from getting screwed afterwards.

i did my senior first aid last year and it's surpriseing what you learn, i would deffinately recomend doing it

It's a great idea, as a paramedic I see alot of things that could have been avoided had the parent/parents taken a simple 2 hour course!