First Aid Course For Au Pair

[agnesrose86]

Has anyone paid for their au pair to do a pedeatric first aid course?

No. I haven't done one myself. What age are your children? Do they have any particular issues?

My 5 year old has asthma but other than that they are healthy. When I asked another questions about au pairs recently a lot of people raised the issue that they might not know what to do in an emergency. I just thought for the sake of £130 it would be well worth it but wondered if anyone else had done the same.

Personally I wouldn't bother, but it's a valid point I guess. Our APs know where the plasters are and our phone numbers. To be fair, my kids have an almost 100% attendance rate both for school and nursery so it isn't something I'd worry about.

Other people I know would disagree!

I have neither children nor au pair, but if the situation arose I most definitely would do. It doesnt matter how healthy your child is, if they are choking on a grape and the carer doesnt know what to do, a plaster isnt going to help. I would pay for it for them to go.

I used to teach first aid and save a life courses.
I always prefaced my save a life course with a statement that, in my opinion, anyone who looks after children, whether parent, relative, friend should know some basic first aid.

You never know when a child might have an accident, choke on something etc.

Knowing what to do can mean the difference between life and death.

Your child is the most precious thing you have. Why entrust their care to someone who wouldn't know what to do in an emergency?

OP - you are wise. £130 is money well spent.

As a child I watched a toddler choke to death. The adults nearby had no idea what to do. That has stayed with me all my life.

As an Au Pair I had a quick CPR training back home ( that I would like to redo as it's been a while ) and took a course on what to do when a kid or infant chokes on food, I am glad I did as I feel confident that I know what to do in case of emergency.

In fact my host baby started chocking the other day at the park, not the usual choking where, you know 'a tap on the back and she'll be fine' ( which by the way is the wrong thing to do) type of choke. She actually couldn't breath.

That scared me to death but I managed to remain calm and did what I learnt to do and she was fine. That made me realized that had I not taken that course things could have turn out very differently as I probably would have freaked out, especially since the park was empty and by the time I would have called emergency it probably would have been too late.

I think EVERYONE parents included should do it and that it should be free.
The kid often chokes on her food and her parents always do the wrong moves that everybody has the instinct to do ( tapping the kid in the back hoping he'll spit it out) this always makes me cringe as it could definitely make the situation worse and I can't help but wonder how things would have gone had they been the one in charge of their kid that day...

if you have the money to afford the class definitely sign her up to a CPR class it might save your kids lives and many more may she need to practise it on other people. :)

All mine have done one, unless they already have an up to date one from their home county. I pay and they have to do it in their own time.

I couldn't assume otherwise that they would know how to react in an emergency medical situation.

I also made DH do one after we had DS1!

All mine do a St Johns ambulance paediatric first aid 2 day course in their first week with me. Its not about "finding the plasters", its about saving your childs life if they choke, and knowing instinctivly what to do it something happends. I am an advanced first aider myself and have had to deal with several incidents at work and my training has been put to good use. My aupairs always come home buzzing after the course saying I never knew this and that. Money well spent, its your childrens lives.

The red cross offers first aid courses for 60 pounds or so. I think it is money well spent.

I insisted. It needn't cost £130 either.

Yes - she did the British Red Cross one. Highly recommend.

I've just looked up the British Red Cross courses near me and they are only cost £45. Trouble is, that's just four hours and I'm not sure that would cover everything. The one I found for £130 was two full days. What have other people done?

6 hour ofsted approved one - I think some companies offer a blended learning option with a day in class and home study. Where in the country are you?

We're in the North East so course could be Newcastle/Durham or Edinburgh even. Do you have a link?

As a general rule most au pairs have had little childcare experience and it may be their first "proper job" so probably would not have to deal with any emergencies at all. so for a small cost in relation to the price of your child I would say to all parents that any nanny/au pair they have in the their home to make sure they have a valid first aid. It's very unlikely they would know how long to leave a child's hand running under water for a burn or if a child has an open wound how to deal with.