Following on from our last post in which we said ‘anyone can do it’ comes an interesting report about a 9-year-old saving his 2-year-old sister by doing CPR. – he said “I just went running outside and I did CPR on her. I knew what I was doing.” And thanks to him, she’s expected to make a full recovery.
So, another child hero; big deal?
Jenny with AED: Probably too young to use it
It is when you learn that his only training was watching CPR on TV. We often comment in class about the techniques seen on TV and in movies, and about how accurate they are. More importantly we talk about the success rate on TV vs. Real Life! Still, Brooke learned his CPR the only way he knew how – by watching TV.
Is there a better way? We think there is. We offer PeopleSaver courses for every child from the age of 5. At 5, you’re probably too young to learn and effectively do CPR, and it’s not part of the course. By Brooke’s age it certainly is. So – CPR in a class, or just picked up from TV? Classes offer:
- Qualified Red Cross instructors,
- Targeted, kid-friendly learning environment,
- Chance to practice before doing it for real (on your sister/mum/granny),
- Learning with friends.
It’s designed with them in mind and is intended to help them learn and retain the life-saving details. You’d have to be crazy to leave it to TV. Research suggests they can physically perform CPR from about age 9 (just like Brooke did) but can learn the skill at a younger age. Similar research in Australia backs this up as does another report from Austria. Can you see the pattern?
The answer seems to be that they can ‘learn’ CPR from an early age but may not be able to perform it until about 9 years old. The question for you is, are you letting your child learn from TV, or booking some training? It could be your life they’re saving… want to risk it?
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