As a nurse, I am fairly confident with being in a first aid situation. Don’t get me wrong, depending on the situation I still get a burst of adrenaline, I would worry if I didn’t. But I can think clearly, I can make logical decisions and I can take appropriate action. To top this off, I had spent years working with children…. I was totally ready to be a parent and deal with the little first aid challenges that children throw at their parents (right????).
On one hand, I was right, I could deal with the first aid challenges that my children threw and still throw at me (I thought I had escaped the item up a nose safely until my 7-year-old told me about the pea he had put up there…. 7!!!). However, no one can prepare you for the emotions that come with being a parent, the second guessing and the worry not to mention the overwhelming need to protect whilst still letting them explore.
I could see that my patients that were parents often felt anxious about dealing with a bang to the head, a bee sting, burns, their children eating random things and of course the ever-present threat of choking. I was often told “I meant to do a first aid course but time got away from me. Now it’s tricky to find the time” or a variation similar to that. I saw my friends often turn to me for help when their children were injured and say “thank goodness you were there.” I heard people joke “don’t choke now, Karyn is leaving.” I saw my husband hesitate a little too long when my son was flinging blood from his badly cut finger to the ceiling, waiting for me to jump in.
Obviously, I am always more than happy to help someone in need…. but it got me thinking…. If I as a parent with all my nursing experience, found dealing with a bad first aid situation with my children to be at times stressful, how would a parent with no training feel? How could I help them feel more confident? How could I help them feel that they could deal with choking, burns, a bang to the head, a broken arm, a pea up the nose, a badly cut hand to mention a few situations? How could I help them stay calm and confident to reassure their upset child?
But not just parents…. I have helped out at a road accident twice, pulled children struggling from pools, helped with badly broken arms, patched up people who have been hit in the head with things flying through the air to name a few. A first aid situation comes when you least expect it, so EVERYONE needs regular training to feel confident and prepared. The answer was to provide courses that meet the needs of most, courses that are fun, flexible, practical, accessible and that make first aid “doable”. And so head2toe First Aid was “born”.
As well as providing nationally recognised courses, we provide parent first aid courses for those that don’t have time to do a 1 day course. If you have a group, we can come to your home/venue and run the course where you are. If you don’t have a group then that’s ok, we provide public courses to book into. If we don’t have a course that suits your needs, then talk to Karyn and she will design one or refer you to someone that can fulfil your requirements.