Should Children Be Required to Learn CPR and Basic First Aid in School?

What’s the story?

• Teaching basic first aid and CPR in schools will be mandatory in the U.K. starting in 2020.
• Each student will be taught how to administer CPR, the use of defibrillators, and basic treatments for common injuries.
• Most U.S. states require CPR training in order to graduate high school. Should it be a federal mandate?

States in red require some sort of CPR training for high school students.

Why teach CPR and basic first aid?

• In the U.K, around 30,000 people a year go into cardiac arrest outside of hospitals and fewer than 10 percent survive.
• Studies have shown that in countries where children learn CPR in schools the survival rate doubles.
• The British Heart Foundation (BHF) described the plans as a “decisive moment.”

What do you think?

Should all U.S. states require CPR training to graduate high school? Should training begin earlier? Take action above and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / KatarzynaBialasiewicz)