No matter how old and wise we get, everyone is susceptible to the occasional domestic injury. But would your child know what to do if they walked into the kitchen to find that you'd slipped over and banged your head? Would they know how to put you into the recovery position if you were to suffer a fit? These are the sort of concerns that the Children's Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) is aiming to address with their new first aid handbooks for children.
PSHCE (personal, social, health and citizenship education) has become a much more prominent subject in schools as a result of modern youth culture, with many children appearing to imitate the lifestyles of their adult icons.
This is something the CSEF take very seriously, and through these new First Aid Handbook's their aim is to encourage study needs through the written word and promote public interest in personal safety and public citizenship. The CSEF has a plain and simple belief that children ‘should not suffer due to ignorance of the consequences of [their] actions'.
It wants every child to ‘grow up conscious of the dangers and risks' they may face, and ‘equipped to understand the rules on how to stay safe, healthy and become a strong, independent young person'.
The handbooks teach readers all about the body before going on to explain some basic first aid techniques and offering a range of fact-finding activities. Obviously, it is important that children know to ring the emergency services if they're not sure what to do or they don't feel confident. But according to Terry Spurr, who has been working with the London ambulance service for forty years, the right equipment and a bit of know how can go a long way.
‘I have often attended calls where people could have helped themselves if they had a first aid kit to hand in their home', he says. ‘This is the normal first aid kit sold in most good chemists. I am sure that with the knowledge gained even in the children's First Aid Handbook, most people would be able to dress minor injuries with this kit.'
The ideal kit in anyone's house, located in a convenient place should contain:
The CSEF's First Aid Handbooks, one aimed at early learners and another at seven to 11-year-olds, are available to purchase online at csef.net
