In this week’s blog, our lovely Cambridge trainer Ruth Wilson talks about the amazing world of You Tube:    

Isn’t it amazing what you can learn from You Tube? It was my son’s 12th Birthday recently, and he got one of these:

Within about half an hour he had messed it up, and was coming to me for help! I had NO idea how to solve it. However the internet is a parent’s friend in such situations and so I found a video on You Tube, followed it, made notes and then had a go. And another go….and another. Several attempts later I got there - I solved it! I then hunted out my old original 80’s rubix cube and had a go at that too as I was so pleased with my new skill! However it occurred to me that I could have watched that demonstration video 100 times and made copious notes; but unless I had picked up that cube and had a try (or several, as it turned out) I would never have known if I could do it. I could never confidently say; “I can solve a Rubix Cube!” The same is true of First Aid skills. In fact, a close friend shocked me the other day by saying that if something happened with her girls at home, she’d just ‘Google’ what to do. When you’re in the heat of the moment, being calm and acting quickly is what counts. Would you be able to do this if you had to ‘Google’ or ‘You Tube’ what to do first? You can watch all the videos (and there are some fantastic ones out there), read books, and make notes; but it’s that hands on practice that really gives you the confidence to say “I can perform CPR!” or “I know how to manage choking!” I’m not for a minute saying however that You Tube doesn’t have its place. It never ceases to amaze me that you can literally find out how to do anything; from mending a puncture to turfing your lawn! Video clips can be a great way to refresh your memory of CPR for example.

For this reason, we’ve launched our Mini First Aid You Tube channel and we’ll continue to add useful content for parents and children. There is certainly no substitute for hands on practice when learning first aid. But the more you can do to refresh your knowledge whether by watching You Tube or reading our blog; the more CONFIDENT you’ll feel in managing first aid situations should they arise. Everybody learns in different ways. We just want to make sure you’re equipped with the knowledge and confidence to know what to do. Mini First Aid Youtube