Brit Selwood says her first-aid knowledge has helped son Joey

The wife of a Cats legend knows exactly how important it is to know first aid as 18 month-old Joey likes to take after his dad.

Brit Selwood knows what to do when Joey, 18 months, injures himself after she undertook a St John Ambulance first aid training course before he was born. Picture: Alison Wynd

                                  

Brit Selwood says she knows exactly how important it is to have first-aid knowledge on hand as her son Joey learns to navigate the world.

Ms Selwood said Joey is taking after his dad Joel, who was famed for being a hard nut on the footy field.

The 18-month-old has been known to get a bump or scrape from time to time.

Ms Selwood said she has called on her first-aid training, which her and Joel gained through a St John Ambulance course before Joey was born, on multiple occasions.

“Joey is a very busy boy so he has already had a few bandages and we’ve had a couple of incidents with a marble coffee table,” she said.

“About a week ago he had a head knock and had a huge egg on his head so we used our first-aid knowledge to monitor him.

“When he was about 14 months old he cut his finger quite badly in the kitchen.

“There was blood everywhere, but my initial reaction was to get a towel to compress it, elevate it and stop the bleeding, that was all my first aid jumping into action.

“We went straight to our local medical centre and he had it glued up.”

The Selwoods are expecting their second child in October.

Ms Selwood said in two weeks she would be refreshing her first aid with another course.

“Accidents do happen and it’s just a part of life and a part of children learning spatial awareness,” she said.

“You need to know you’re going to be prepared and having all the resources is so important.

“I think it is important I freshen up on my first aid before the new baby is here so we are as prepared as possible because I think it will get even busier when that happens.”

Brit Selwood and son Joey look at some first aid bandages before she does another first aid course ahead of welcoming baby number two. Picture: Alison Wynd

St John Ambulance Victoria revealed new research that 76 per cent of Australians have witnessed a health or medical emergency but 62 per cent say no one in their home has received first aid training.

Less than one in 10 say they would be very confident in their ability to provide first aid in an emergency.

St John Ambulance Victoria chief executive Gordon Botwright said he believed everybody should be trained in first aid.

“In critical moments, it only takes one person to make a difference and help save a life,” he said.

“That’s why it’s crucial for more people to be equipped with first aid training.

“Every trained individual is a potential lifesaver, and together, we can create a safer community for all.”

In an emergency always call triple-0.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Brit Selwood says her first-aid knowledge has helped son Joey