The Importance of Children Learning CPR
Who says children can not save lives? A part of a parent’s largest responsibility in raising children is preparing them for the world around them. CPR is one of those valuable skills that children should be encouraged to learn. Not only does it save lives, but makes them more aware of their surroundings and responsible from a very young age.
Although many people question the effectiveness of a child performing CPR, studies show that 86% children from the ages 9-18 can learn to perform effective CPR(1). Many children are able to understand and demonstrate the concepts from the age of 9 and are able to perform effective chest compression exercises by the age of 12(1)! As a matter of fact, organizations such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, the American Heart Association, and even certain public counties encourage children to learn about the concepts of CPR even if they are not effectively able to perform it (2). The whole thought process behind it is that children should be capable of recognizing and activating a safe and effective response to emergency situations (2).
There are many stories out there about events in which children emerge as heroes by performing CPR. This may be on teachers, family members, someone else as a bystander, and other emergency situations in which a child has stepped up and taken the responsibility of helping save someone's life (2). The biggest inclination for children to learn CPR is seeing the people around them learn and speak more about it. Sometimes for parents that includes taking classes to support their child's learning (1).
SMART Certification is ideal in these kinds of scenarios because not only can the parent teach and learn from the comfort of their home, children are able to learn with their family as well. In today's day where everyone has access to technology, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn and get a good grasp of the concepts of CPR from the comfort of their environment. Using SMART Certification, learning and performing CPR takes a maximum of 90 minutes. 90 minutes of a family’s time dedicated to teaching their children CPR can save lives in the future. Maybe the next family event could be getting certified in CPR and first aid together.
References
CPR Training for Children | Youth CPR | The Response Institute | CPR Consultants. (2017). Retrieved 3 February 2022, from https://www.cprconsultants.com/what-age-should-children-learn-cpr/
Kids Save Lives - Why Children Should Learn CPR - Emergency First Response. (2021). Retrieved 3 February 2022, from https://www.emergencyfirstresponse.com/kids-save-lives-why-children-should-learn-cpr/