5 reasons all parents should learn First Aid

I was lucky as a teenager that I learned First Aid at both the Red Cross and in Guides. I never really got the chance to use it in anger apart from the odd sprained ankle and a few rugby injuries though.. Once I became a parent I considered re-doing my first aid training but there never seemed to be time to do it. Luckily some of the basics had always stuck with me, so when my children had some potentially scary accidents I:

1) Didn't panic

When my son was 3 he had a tumble on a friend's trampoline and came into the house with blood everywhere from his head. Thanks to first aid training I knew that 

a) head wounds usually look worse than they are 
b) applying pressure with a clean cloth will reduce/stop the bleeding 

So I sat quietly with my son on my lap and he calmed down whilst the pressure worked - on this occasion it was just a large graze!

2) Reassuring for children

Both my children have had the kind of knocks and bumps that have required the simplest forms of First Aid with a clean up, a plaster and maybe something cold to sooth or take down swelling. They feel that I know what I am doing which is reassuring for them.

Reasons to be Cheerful Week 11 #R2BC

Joining in again this week with Claire at Seasider in the City back in takeover mode! So lets see what's made me smile this week...
1) Running
I've been back on track and managed to run 20 minutes without stopping on Friday! 
Whoop! Just need to keep up the training when life doesn't get in the way!
2) Walking in her shoes
I managed to complete the challenge despite all the weather conditions being against me. It was an amazing challenge to fit into a busy life that is built around the ability to just jump in a car to get everywhere on time! No wonder those girls don't have time to have an education or work when they spend so much time collecting water. If you want to help change this then donate via my Just Giving page. I couldn't have done it without my children who walked in rain and snow with me.
3) Proud Mummy
My daughter came home with a certificate praising her independent maths work and original literacy work at school. Its always fantastic to know that my children are doing well at school and being recognised for their efforts.
Both children also did me proud on Saturday selling cakes to our friends in aid of cancer research:

4) Proud of Me
For the first time for about 25 years I am a qualified first aider! Its been an interesting 3 days with theory and hands on practicals. We had quite a lot of laughs on the way too as we learnt how to deal with lots of life threatening situations and how to do cope with a range of injuries. Now I just hope that I don't have to use some of those more serious skills in action but I'm confident I can if I need to.