Having a baby is brilliant and, most of the time (maybe not at 5am!), it’s a lot of fun! That said, there is a scary side to parenting in as far as you’re suddenly responsible for keeping your little bundle of joy safe and well at all times.

Usually this will just involve common sense things like making sure they aren’t too hot or cold at night, making sure you keep an eye on their temperature after their jabs, and not letting them roll off the sofa or bed! However, for some parents, it can involve far more than that, and knowing what to do in an emergency situation can be the difference, sadly, between life and death.

For this reason, we decided, along with some of the couples from our NCT course, to do a first aid course for babies and children.

When we started looking around for a suitable course in Leeds, though, we found that many were unsuitable because they were either far too long, too expensive, or didn’t allow babies to attend, which is ridiculous when you’re breastfeeding. Eventually, we came across Mini First Aid, two hour courses held at flexible times at locations near us, which were suitable for babies and partners.

Kate Ball, who runs the courses and who is a mum herself, decided to set the Mini First Aid business up to fill a gap in the market for parents who just need the basic knowledge for some reassurance.

Our course covered the following:

• CPR
• Burns
• Wounds
• Seizures
• Choking (a big worry for all of us NCT mums who are thinking about baby led weaning, so this was important knowledge)
• Broken bones
• Head injuries
• Meningitis

There was a lot to cover in two hours, but nothing was rushed over, and we were encouraged to ask questions at all times. The CPR section was particularly useful as we were asked to practice what we’d been taught on two dummies: a baby and a child (the technique is slightly different for both).

Some of the content in the class was slightly scary to think about, but it’s far better to feel even a little bit equipped with the knowledge and skills to be able to deal with an emergency in the home or out and about.

We’d really recommend Kate’s courses in Leeds if you’re a parent who wants to understand the basics of baby and child first aid.