Child Safety Tiny Tots First Aid: one morning with St John WA to learn baby and toddler CPR
St John WA's Tiny Tots First Aid is a hands-on class for parents, grandparents and carers of babies and toddlers. CPR, choking, drowning, burns, fevers and more, $90, at training centres across Perth and regional WA. What it covers and how to book.
Reading about CPR helps. Pressing on a training doll with your own two hands, while someone who does this for a living watches and says "a bit deeper", is different. That is what sticks when your heart is racing.
St John WA runs a class for exactly this: Tiny Tots First Aid, a single morning built around babies and toddlers.
What it is
St John WA is the ambulance service and first aid trainer for Western Australia. Tiny Tots First Aid is one of its family courses: a short, hands-on class in a training room with a St John trainer. There is no online study to do first and no test at the end. You come, you practise, you go home knowing more than you did that morning.
It is not a workplace qualification. If your job needs a first aid certificate, St John has accredited courses for that. This one is for home.
What you learn
St John lists these topics for the course:
- CPR for a baby and a child, and the St John action plan (DRSABCD) that tells you what to do in order
- The recovery position for a child and for a baby
- Choking
- Drowning
- Asthma
- Allergic reactions and anaphylaxis
- Fever and febrile convulsions
- Bleeding, burns and head injuries
- Meningococcal disease
- The St John First Responder app, which you can download on iPhone or Android
Who it is for
Parents and guardians, grandparents, and anyone who cares for babies and toddlers: a nanny, an aunt who babysits, a family day carer.
One thing to plan for: St John can't take babies or children into the classroom. Line up someone to mind them, or take turns with your partner across two dates.
What it costs and how long it takes
The class costs $90 per person. Sessions run 9am to 1pm. St John lists the course itself as three and a half hours, and asks you to arrive 15 minutes before the start.
St John WA recommends refreshing first aid every 12 months, in line with the Australian Resuscitation Council's advice that CPR skills be refreshed every year.
Where it runs
On 28 October 2026 St John WA listed Tiny Tots classes at:
- Perth: Belmont, Joondalup, O'Connor, Osborne Park and the Perth CBD training centres, most weekends
- Great Southern: Albany, and Tambellup Playgroup
- Midwest: Geraldton
- South West: Bunbury, Harvey and Margaret River
Regional dates are fewer, so check early if you live outside Perth.
How to book, step by step
- Open the Tiny Tots First Aid page.
- Under "Book this course", choose your nearest training centre, or "All locations" to see every date.
- Pick how many people are coming. Bring your partner or a grandparent: everyone who minds the baby is worth having in the room.
- Choose a date and press "Book class". The place is held in your cart for 20 minutes.
- Fill in each person's details in the cart and pay.
- On the day, arrive 15 minutes early.
Questions? Call St John WA on (08) 9334 1222.
Book it for your mothers' group
If you have ten or more people, such as a mothers' group, playgroup or a few families from day care, St John WA will bring a private course to you. Tiny Tots First Aid is one of the courses on its private booking form. Minimum class charges apply, so ask for a quote.
Ask St John WA about a private course
Can't get there yet?
Start at home tonight. Royal Life Saving WA's Heart Beat Club Online Learning is a free one-hour course on infant and child CPR. Then book the class to practise it with your hands.