Normally we hear the sad stories about a child drowning when we are reminded of the need for all parents to learn CPR. Typically it’s a tragic story, one that you can’t bear to watch so you change the channel on the TV or turn the page in the newspaper. We ignore things that are hard to watch.

My mom told me about a positive story and it just warms my heart. A two-year-old boy was SAVED by his sister and his mother, who performed CPR. Without the CPR her child wouldn’t have been revived.

The full story can be read here.

Related:

• Find where to get certified in your area — it doesn’t take long and isn’t expensive.
• Read my account of taking CPR.
• Read my post about infant swim lessons.

Answer: When he has to go to the ER and comes home with a cast on his leg!

Last week I got some of the best advice from two of my mom friends, Jane and Roxanne. It’s in reference to raising children:

Don’t do anything once unless you are willing to do it FOREVER!”

So true!

My son has become infatuated with “Thomas. Tank. Engine.” So, the other night (big parenting mistake coming, take note) after a house full of family left for the night, family we haven’t seen in over a year, family that is loving on my son, kissing, playing and hugging on him all night, after they left. After he was totally wound up. After all that, we thought it was a good idea to let him — enter bad parenting mistake — watch TV.

“Thomas the Tank Engine” was recorded (love TiVo) so I let him watch one episode. Against my better judgment. It is already way past his bedtime. He is already worked up. For some crazy reason I think TV will calm him down. Well, I am right on that. It does calm him down. Right up until the point when Mommy turns the TV off because Thomas went “nite-nite.”

Enter toddler meltdown.

My husband and I look at each other. “Don’t do it,” he says to me as I hold the remote. (background: **CRYING, CRYING, CRYING**) I think for a moment, the best one can think during all that crying. Of course the easy thing is to put “Thomas” back on. After all, it is a DVR, but he doesn’t know that. I explain that Thomas went nite-nite. That his Aunt, Uncle and cousins went nite-nite. That Mommy and Daddy WANT to go nite-nite.

No dice.

We decide the best thing is to hold our ground as parents and let him cry it out. This is why I hate “Thomas the Tank Engine” right now. If I had never heard of this show, I would have never let him watch it tonight. I would have read books, or played with his Little People, his cars … anything but let him watch 15 minutes of some show on TV. Lesson learned.

It takes about an hour (maybe longer) to get him to calm down, but he finally does after some major distractions and about three time outs. He is exhausted, we are exhausted.

Next time we watch “Thomas,” or any TV, it won’t be right before bed, that’s for sure.

So I know TV isn’t always a bad thing and I don’t hate “Thomas” because of it. We do use TV at times for entertainment and on occasion for parental relief, but tonight is an example of when I think we’re better off not watching and doing other things together as a family.

I finally got certified in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid this past weekend. It’s two years overdue, but better late than never. Why I waited I’ll never know, but thanks to my friend Andrea, I finally went. She and I have children the same age and kept on each other to finally get certified. If we hadn’t talked about it, I’m not sure I would have ever made it to the class. Having a friend to go with makes it easier too.

We learned complete CPR, including the differences between adult, child and infant cases. We also learned about burns, poisonings, fractures and other ailments so that we are prepared for calamities that we surely will be faced with as our children age. I feel better knowing how to deal with serious issues now.

As I’m sitting in class I’m wondering why more people don’t get certified. with all of the disasters we have in this country, we need people to be trained properly to assist in emergency situations. Not just rely on the Red Cross to fix things. How many more people could we save if more civilians like you and me were certified?

Find a location near you.