Becoming a parent changes everything. You read the books, you set up the nursery, you buy the car seat, you attend the antenatal classes. You prepare for the birth in extraordinary detail. But very few new parents prepare for the moment after the birth when their baby chokes on a piece of banana, pulls a cup of tea off the table, or has a febrile convulsion in the middle of the night.
These things happen. They happen to careful parents in safe homes. They happen suddenly, without warning, and they are terrifying. The difference between a parent who freezes and a parent who acts is not courage or instinct. It is training.
Our Baby and Toddler First Aid course is designed specifically for new and expectant parents. It is three hours of practical, hands-on learning that teaches you exactly what to do in the emergencies that are most common and most dangerous for babies and young children. It is not a professional qualification. It is not something you need for work. It is simply the most important three hours you will spend as a new parent.
We are PCT Services, and we run this course at our training centre at First Floor, 2 Queen Street in Northwich, about a 30 minute drive from Altrincham. It costs £42 per person, and you receive a certificate valid for one year.
What the course covers
The course focuses on the emergencies that new parents are most likely to face and that require the fastest, most confident response.
Choking is the one that keeps every parent awake at night, especially once weaning begins. You will learn how to recognise when a baby or toddler is choking, how to deliver effective back blows and chest thrusts for an infant, and how to adapt the technique for an older child. You will practise on infant manikins until the movements feel natural and automatic.
Infant and child CPR is the skill you hope you will never use, but if you ever need it, nothing else matters. You will learn how to check for breathing, how to deliver rescue breaths, how to perform chest compressions on a baby and on a young child, and how to use the technique continuously until help arrives. Again, you will practise until it feels instinctive.
Burns and scalds are frighteningly common in homes with young children. Hot drinks, bath water, radiators, oven doors, hair straighteners. You will learn the correct first aid response, including cooling techniques, what to cover and what not to cover, and when to call for emergency help.
Febrile convulsions are something most new parents have never heard of until it happens to their child. A sudden spike in temperature causes a seizure that looks absolutely terrifying but is usually not dangerous if you know what to do. The course teaches you how to manage a febrile convulsion safely, what to look out for, and when to seek medical help.
The course also covers allergic reactions, the signs of meningitis, bleeding and wound care, and head injuries. Everything is relevant to the age group you are caring for, and everything is practical rather than theoretical.
When to do the course
The ideal time is before your baby arrives. During pregnancy, you have time, energy, and headspace to learn new skills. Once the baby is here, the idea of sitting in a training room for three hours feels impossible, and the first few months disappear in a blur of feeds, nappies, and sleep deprivation.
Many Altrincham parents book the course in the third trimester, often as a couple. Both parents doing the course together means both of you have the skills, and you can support each other in an emergency rather than one person feeling completely helpless.
If your baby has already arrived and you have not done the course yet, do not let that put you off. It is never too late. Parents with six month olds, one year olds, and two year olds all attend, and they all say they wish they had done it sooner. The emergencies the course covers do not stop being relevant as your child grows. In fact, the more mobile and curious your toddler becomes, the more likely some of these situations are.
What the course feels like
This is not a lecture. It is not a day of sitting in a classroom being talked at. It is three hours of practical, hands-on learning in a small group of no more than 12 people. You will have an infant manikin in front of you. You will practise every technique. You will ask questions and get clear, honest answers from an experienced instructor.
The atmosphere is relaxed and supportive. Everyone in the room is a parent or soon-to-be parent, and everyone has the same concerns. There is no test, no exam, no pressure. Just three hours of learning skills that could genuinely save your child's life.
Parents often tell us afterwards that they feel a physical sense of relief. Not because they are no longer worried about emergencies, but because they now know what to do if one happens. That confidence is worth far more than £42.
Bring your partner, bring your parents
We strongly recommend that both parents attend, ideally together on the same course. If your child's grandparents are regularly involved in childcare, they benefit hugely from the course too, especially if it has been decades since they had babies of their own. The techniques have changed, the advice has evolved, and grandparents consistently tell us how much more confident they feel after the course.
If you are part of an NCT group or antenatal class in Altrincham, booking as a group is a brilliant option. You learn together, you support each other, and it becomes a shared experience rather than just a training session.
The details
The course lasts three hours and costs £42 per person. You receive a certificate valid for one year. Groups are small at a maximum of 12, so there is plenty of time for questions and individual practice. No previous first aid experience is needed.
We run scheduled courses throughout the year at our training centre at First Floor, 2 Queen Street in Northwich. Check the live dates on our Baby and Toddler First Aid page. For groups who would prefer a venue closer to Altrincham, we can discuss on-site delivery too.
Baby & Toddler First Aid
Gain confidence to handle emergencies with your baby or toddler. Learn essential first aid skills from a trainer who is a Registered Nurse with many years of clinical experience within Emergency Departments who trains Advanced Paediatric Life Support to medical and nursing staff in acute hospital environments.
Northwich Training Centre, Northwich
Fully booked · 3 dates available
Book your place
If you are a new parent, an expectant parent, or a grandparent in Altrincham, check the upcoming dates on our Baby and Toddler First Aid page and book your place. Or give us a call on 07958 915146 and we will help you find the right date. Three hours and £42. That is all it takes to learn skills that could save your child's life.
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