Polegate mum offering first-aid training for toddlers

Jen Fisher started Mini First Aid East Sussex back in September with the aim of teaching children life-saving skills.

The group is offering free online resources while also hosting Zoom classes for parents and children.

Mrs Fisher said, “I feel really passionate about first aid in general and I started teaching parents first aid for their children. That all started for me when my daughter was born and she was really unwell and I thought, ‘Gosh, this is something I would have really liked to have done’.”

Early years classes, for children aged three to six, cost £5 while classes for children aged seven to 11 cost £10.

Mrs Fisher said, “There’s the ability there to understand those basic first aid skills and it’s something that should be weaved in holistically for their education and at home and at school so they are prepared if something has happened.

“That’s the reason we do first aid, so we are prepared if something happens to us or happens to a parent or a sibling or teacher, so we know what to do.

“Early years is our three to six-year-olds and in early years we start to look at what happens in an emergency, what to expect when we hurt ourselves and what the adults around us might do.

“That is to encourage them to know what is going to happen and to know what to expect because at that age we don’t expect them to be doing their own first aid.

“We talk a little bit as well about if the adult that is looking after you is unwell as well because how often are our children in that three to six category at home alone with an adult with no other support there? So if mum, dad, gran or grandad feels unwell we need those little ones to know how to call an ambulance, what’s their address, what’s happening and we teach them the recovery position as well.”

The classes also teach children about the dangers of choking as well as how to get help in emergency situations.

Mrs Fisher said, “When we move to our seven to 11 class we are acknowledging that children begin having a little bit more independence so you might have children that age who are doing first aid on other children when there are not any adults around.

“We talk a lot more about staying calm and getting help safely. Explaining where they are is also a massive thing for children. Children get panicked and don’t know where to explain where they are.”

In the older age group children are also taught how to perform CPR on other youngsters.

In terms of how the older children have received the class Mrs Fisher said, “I think they enjoy being given that responsibility and that independence and that information that we are showing them that could save someone’s life.

“They really take well to that and take things seriously because children that age generally have had an injury themselves or know someone who has.”

Parents have also seen the impact first aid training can have on their children.

Terry Lewis, from Tots Play Bexhill and Hastings West, said, ”My daughter just completed an early years first aid class on zoom and at just three-years-old she can now show me what to do if someone hits their head, or is hurt on the floor. She also knows who to phone if one of her parents is unconscious. We’ve already signed up to the next course about safe eating.”

Although in-person classes are not possible at the moment, Mrs Fisher hopes to bring her classes to nurseries and schools once she is able to.

In regards to the Zoom classes Mrs Fisher said, “As parents the amount of money we waste on so many things, those toys that end up in the back of the cupboard or an activity my child doesn’t enjoy or whatever else. It’s £5 for an early years class, it’s £10 for a children’s class. It’s a really easy affordable thing to do.

“They really could gain a life-saving skill, even a three-year-olds could be gaining something life-saving during that time.”

If you would like to join the classes or want to learn more visit Mini First Aid East Sussex on Facebook or visit: https://eastsussex.minifirstaid.co.uk/.