“When children encounter something unfamiliar, they are like a computer,” says Frank Lehr, managing director of Vlasterpass, a Berlin-based nonprofit group that offers first aid courses for children in nurseries and primary schools. Adjust themselves “to the moment when everything was still fine.”
“Sometimes they act completely irrationally, because they don’t know how to handle the situation,” he adds.
To address this, emergency training courses in Germany teach children from the age of four to the second grade in primary school the nature of an emergency and how they can provide assistance if it occurs.
Lear explains that “children are born by default with the basics of first aid,” and he says that the most important element is the enjoyment of a great deal of empathy, for example: “Little Michelle falls and her friend Sarah starts crying as well, and tries to calm her down and starts blowing into the wound.”
The Samaritan Workers’ Union, a German charitable organization providing assistance and care, also offers first aid training for children, starting from the age of three.
“One thing children can always do is get help,” says Edith Valmayr, federal director of emergency services and education for the Samaritan Workers’ Union. So it is very important that they know the local emergency number, and that they are allowed to make the call.
“When we ask the children during the training session if they are actually allowed to call the emergency number, up to 90% of them say ‘no’,” says Lear. Lear encourages parents to tell their children that they can — and should — call an ambulance in an emergency.
And while children between the ages of 7 and 10 can make an emergency call themselves, younger children can at least ask someone to make the call for them. In order for children to provide the necessary information when calling, Walmayer says parents should train them to do so: “Say your name loud and clear. Say where you are, and if you don’t know, ask someone.”
-Kids can even provide hands-on help in an age-appropriate way. Where youngsters are taught how to apply adhesive bandages and bandage wounds. “We experiment with each other, or as a joke with dolls or teddy bears,” says Valmayr.
-The method of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is also shown to school students during the “Flasterpass” training sessions. “Even if the child is not physically able to do CPR, they are clearly able to tell adults what to do,” says Lear.
Asking adults for help is another thing that parents can discuss with their children. Is there a particular neighbor whose doorbell they can ring in an emergency? Another possibility is contacting the owner of a nearby shop. Lear notes that children “can also tell a bus driver, who can call for help immediately.”
There is a great desire to help, Valmayr says, which is present in children in general. “They’re excited and they do it without reservations. They quickly figure out if they can do something or have to ask for help,” she adds.
When children learn in a group, for example, in a nursery school or a school classroom, their enthusiasm is boundless. “Can you imagine how much fun they have when we explain how the space blanket works and then they all run around like astronauts?” says Lear.
It is noteworthy that the space blanket (also known as the “emergency blanket” or “first aid blanket”) is a blanket of a particularly small capacity, characterized by its water and wind resistance, and it is made of thermal reflective and thin plastic sheets, and its goal is to reduce the loss of heat of the person due to the surrounding environment. radiation and others.
The Samaritan Workers’ Union also trains children for exceptional circumstances, such as heavy rains or power outages. In proportion to their age, the children are taught simple things, such as having a light bulb ready, or checking with their parents whether there are sufficient supplies of candles on hand.
“Then the children come home and immediately ask, ‘Do we have a flashlight and enough batteries?'” says Valmayr.
