Blake Lively is urging parents to take a CPR course – specifically an infant CPR course. Having just completed the course herself, she’s promoting not only the benefits of being trained but how enjoyable it is to take the class. Last week, she posted this picture with some new friends to Instagram:
Apparently, though, there is a bit more to the story. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, also posted last week but he gave a bit more context as to why they took the class. As Ryan said on Instagram, he had taken a CPR course years ago. Recently, although he does not give too many details, he was present when his two-year old nephew need CPR and was able to save the child’s life. Both Ryan and Blake took refresher courses as a result so they will be ready should anything happen to their own daughters James, two, and Ines, nine months.
True story: the day before I read this Blake and Ryan story, I signed our family up for a CPR/first aid class. The Mister and I are starting to leave the kids alone at home and I’ll feel better knowing they have that basic knowledge. I took a babysitting course when I was a kid that required CPR training and spent my summer’s as a lifeguard throughout college so I have gone through the full course a few times. This is a great use of their celebrity on Blake and Ryan’s part. I echo Blake’s sentiments to parents to take an infant class if you can. I definitely don’t think it’s a parent only thing, if all of you can take a course, please do so. Should you ever need to use your CPR/First Aid knowledge, it is the closest thing you ever feel to being a superhero, I assure you. But speaking to Blake’s point here, my children, as infants, freaked me out in all the ways they could potentially get hurt. I constantly worried about them choking. So I soothed myself by mentally walking through the steps of a choking child from signs of choking to rescue maneuvers. As Blake said, it really does give you peace of mind. You can go here to find a course near you or call 1-800-REDCROSS. Honestly, they’re right – it’s fun. The instructors are usually jovial and those poor “victim dummies” are the brunt of many jokes.
I am glad that Ryan’s nephew is okay and that Ryan was trained to know what to. Considering it’s Ryan, he will likely never let his sibling – anyone else – forget it in the funniest way possible.
Photo credit: Instagrama nd WENN Photos
Took CPR at Red Cross years ago. Great decision.
We learned CPR in high school for infants, children and adults . I hope schools still do that
My son’s first foray into eating solid foods resulted in sort-of choking (he could breathe but the food was stuck). It was terrifying. Looking for a CPR class is top priority now.
Everyone and I mean everyone should take a CPR course. You just never know when you’re going to need it and the reality is that so many lives could be saved if folks actually knew how to do CPR…and do it properly. A lot of times, it’s too late to save someone by the time the paramedics arrive or by the time the patient arrives at a hospital.
So good on Blake and Ryan for promoting this stuff. Because it really is something that could save a life.
Good for them for promoting this. It is something EVERYONE should know.
+1
My husband was fixated on choking hazards whereas I was incredibly relaxed as our two first kids were really good with eating.
When our nr 3 arrived… Oh boy. Every bit of food, even soup, was a potential accident. Still today, 11 years later, he is a slow and picky eater, always gets bugs in his eyes and gets little itchy crumbs stuck somewhere in his throat…
So, yes a thousand times yes to this post.
(Side-eyeing a little bit the “I ended up saving my little nephew’s life” because I’m a judgemental a** but it could have been a bit less self-congratulatory).
When my son was 13 months old, he had a febrile seizure. When the seizure was over he turned purple and then started screaming. If he hadn’t started breathing on his own, he would have died, because I had no idea what to do for him. I swore I would never feel that helpless again, and I took my first infant CPR course 2 weeks later. I have been renewing my first aid ticket every 2 years since. Never going to feel that helpless again. EVER
When I was pregnant with our daughter both hubs and I took an infant CPR class. I highly recommend it.
OT- that dress is awful. **Clarifying, the bright yellow dress is awful and that shredded gold thing isn’t much better.
Partly I applaud Lively for highlighting this.
Partly I suspect that Lively is trying to reinvent her lifestyle-marketing. After her southern-belle ante-bellum site bombed she seems more focused on a family-friendly and child / education approach? In other words she is trying a Jennifer Garner minus the divorce?
Good for them. My sis is at St. Mary’s paediatric unit and the horror stories she tells me……..😞😢
This is so incredibly important!!! Post birth of a child and evrr 2 years during check ups it couldnt hurt to piggyback a refresher course or using those dates as markers. Like October you check your smoke detector batteries if they’re not hardwired to your house with lithium backups.
My brother once choked while eating salami (the chorizo kind). It was one of the most terrifying things I’ve seen. He went PURPLE (he was also 10 years old and refused to actually chew his food before swallowing…) Luckily our mother knew what to do.
Red Cross offers cheap and easy classes. Also day care centers have staff that are certified and often can teach too. Most CPR and AED teachers are ex fire or cops. I highly recommend it as well as first aid.
I haven’t had to use CPR but first aid has come in handy a lot of times- notably dealing with shock after severe sports injuries.