Even the youngest members of the family need to be prepared for emergency situations. Like the rest of us, young children need skills that are appropriate to their situation.

A 5 year old may not be strong enough to perform CPR, but what can they learn?

More than you may think …

Even 5 year olds can perform first aid!

To find out just how much first aid young children can learn, preschoolers aged 5 and under, were taught some simple first aid skills:

• The “five-finger rule” – Look at the person, talk to them, touch them to try to wake them up, call emergency services and stay and give comfort.
• The recovery position
• Keeping an airway open.

Not only did the kids have fun, the skills stayed with them.

The study team reported that two months later the “children were still able to work out whether a person was unconscious or asleep and whether an accident victim was breathing.

The children could also remember the phone number of the emergency services and accurately describe their location.”

These are some really important results. That means that it’s never too early to start teaching kids how they can help someone in trouble.

What life saving skills would you like to teach your kids? Leave a comment and let us know.