Itasca, IL – More than a friendly face, CPR Teddy is a training tool that resembles a cuddly teddy bear, offered by the National Safety Council to help parents, babysitters and others who work with children practice their child and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques.
“When a child has a life-threatening incident like drowning, choking or exposure to electric shock, rescue steps taken within the following first seconds can mean the difference between life and death,” said Barbara Caracci, National Safety Council Director of Emergency Care Program Development and Training.
These “first responders” are critical to saving children’s lives because they are the persons with a child in the first minutes before an ambulance arrives, Caracci said.
CPR Teddy is built like an infant, to help prepare first-responders for a child’s small frame and physical flexibility. Yet while the bear looks like a soft toy, it contains colored light and sound prompts to indicate when heart compressions and other emergency care steps are performed correctly.
Because the heart and lungs work together to circulate oxygen throughout the body, an incident that deprives the brain of oxygen more than four minutes will likely cause brain damage. After 10 minutes, chances of survival drop to one in 100.
Being able to respond to such an incident is especially important for parents, baby sitters and other caregivers because choking on food or other objects is a primary cause of unintentional death among children. National Safety Council data shows that about 91 infants and children under 2 years old are killed annually by choking.
“Learning CPR can help you give your child, another loved one or a stranger a second chance for life,” Caracci said.
CPR Teddy and training in CPR are available through your local chapter of the National Safety Council. To find a directory of chapters, as well as fact sheets and tips on safe practices at your home, on the road or in the workplace, go to the National Safety Council’s Web site at www.NSC.org.
The National Safety Council is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international public service organization dedicated to educating and influencing people to prevent accidental injuries and deaths. Members of the NSC include more than 50,000 businesses, labor organizations, schools, public agencies, private groups and individuals. Founded in 1913 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the primary focus of the NSC is promoting safety and health in the workplace, in transportation, and in homes and communities.
