Every parent should actually know CPR. You just never know when you'll need a thing like that, and as much as I hate to imagine the circumstances for needing it, they can happen and you'd want to be prepared.
So we've got that out of the way. The next question is, how do you learn CPR? Sure, you can take a class through the Red Cross maybe or in various other places (The American Heart Association gives classes, for instance). It's typically a four-hour class and that's been the standard for a long time.
It turns out there's a better way. Two better ways, in fact:
1. A study has shown that a 30-minute hands-on-intensive course was as good or better than the four-hour class. Each participant, though, got their own Resusci-Annie instead of sharing with 6-8 other people, and it was the hands-on aspect that made the difference.
2. Another study showed that 7th graders who were taught CPR and then went home armed with a DVD did an awesome job of teaching other family members. Which could be you. (Of course, the 7th graders all lived in Denmark; is there a natural aptitude for CPR in Scandinavian countries?)
Sure, I'd love for my kid to teach me CPR (though I already know it); it'd be an esteem-builder for him and a refresher course for me. I figure that the more people know CPR the better.
