Skip to product information
1 of 1

And Breathe First Aid

Assessment Online Course

Assessment Online Course

$49 or 4× $12.25 with Afterpay

ACT FAST: A Simple Assessment Framework for When Your Child Is Unwell

Know when to watch.
Know when to act.
Know when to seek help.

A practical, nurse-designed course that teaches parents how to assess their child clearly and confidently without medical jargon or overwhelm.

When your child is unwell, the hardest part isn’t caring for them.

It’s knowing whether you should be worried.

Is this normal?
Are they coping?
Am I missing something?

Most parents don’t lack instinct.
They lack a clear system to organise what they’re seeing.

That’s where ACT FAST comes in.

The full course, lifetime access, yours to keep

Regular price $79.00 NZD
Regular price Sale price $79.00 NZD
Sale Sold out
View full details

What ACT fast does

ACT FAST is a practical framework created by paediatric nurses and used alongside baby and child first aid principles.

It helps you answer one critical question.

Is my child coping or do they need medical help?

This course does not replace emergency services.

It strengthens your ability to recognise red flags early and seek help appropriately.

Digital thermometer held by a person with a beige background

What you will learn

Inside this course, you’ll learn how to confidently assess:

✔ Alertness – are they responsive and behaving normally for them?
✔ Colour – does their skin look usual, pale, grey, blue, or clammy?
✔ Trouble Breathing – are they breathing easily or working harder than normal?
✔ Fluids & Fontanelle – are they drinking, feeding, weeing as expected?
✔ Abnormal Cry & Abdomen – is their cry different, or is there tummy pain or swelling?
✔ Skin Changes – are there rashes that don’t fade when pressed?
✔ Temperature – when does fever matter, and when does it not?

Everything is explained clearly, calmly, and in practical terms parents can actually remember.

Person using a laptop to access our online child and baby first aid course

Who is this course for

This course is ideal for

  • Parents of babies and young children
  • Expecting parents preparing for baby first aid
  • Grandparents and caregivers
  • Anyone wanting practical child first aid knowledge

No prior experience is required.

Buy Now

Build Confidence in Baby and Child First Aid

You do not need to memorise everything.

You simply need a clear system.

ACT FAST gives you a repeatable method to assess your baby or child when they are unwell so you can act early, calmly and confidently.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a baby and child first aid course?

This course focuses specifically on assessment within baby and child first aid.
It teaches you how to recognise when your baby or child is coping well and when medical help may be needed.

It complements first aid course by helping you identify red flag symptoms early.

Does this replace seeing a doctor?

No.

ACT FAST does not replace medical care.

It helps you recognise when your child is coping and when they need professional help.

The goal is early recognition and confident decision making.

Do I need medical knowledge to take this course?

Not at all.

The course is designed for parents and caregivers with no medical background.

Everything is explained in clear and simple language.

What age is this baby and child first aid assessment course for?

The framework can be used for babies, toddlers and older children.

Specific guidance is included for infants, including temperature concerns and checking hydration.

How is this different to a first aid course?

First aid courses focus on CPR, choking responses and more.

This course focuses on illness assessment. It teaches you how to identify early warning signs such as breathing changes, colour changes, abnormal behaviour and serious rash patterns.

Together, assessment and first aid skills give you more complete confidence.

What if I am still unsure after using ACT FAST?

If something feels wrong, trust your instinct.

ACT FAST is designed to support your judgement, not override it.

If you notice concerning changes or feel unsure, seek medical advice.

Is this suitable for expecting parents?

Yes.

Many parents complete this course during pregnancy to feel more prepared for baby first aid and illness assessment before their child arrives.

Reviews

What Families Have to Say About our Online Courses

  • The content is clear, easy to follow, and gives parents a simple, memorable framework
  • Practical and empowering
  • Continues to exceed expectations. Highly recommend.
  • 5 stars: 17 (100%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
Some of the reviews shown are from related products the merchant grouped with this one.
A
Anahera

Im still making my way through the course in between looking after a newborn bub. the course is easy to follow and is explained in simple terms, highly recommend this for all parents. It helps being able to re-watch the material as well

E
Elina H.

As a first time mum this is everything I needed. Ever since completing these courses I feel much more confident about assessing my baby and knowing what the next steps are. I cannot recommend this more! It gives you the confidence of knowing what to do in tricky situations so that you’re not wasting precious time

S
Shaunaej

Highly recommend! Great course easy at access online! Step by step is great!

B
Becca O.
&Breathe continues to exceed expectations. Highly Reccomend!

As a registered midwife, mum and antenatal educator, I’m very selective about the resources I recommend to families - and &Breathe continues to exceed expectations.

I’ve already found their First Aid course incredibly helpful (and have personally used the learnings with my own children), and Assessing an Unwell Child is just as practical and empowering. The content is clear, easy to follow, and gives parents a simple, memorable framework to confidently assess their child and communicate concerns effectively. I especially loved the analogy about the brain being a cup, such a brilliant way to explain an important concept in a way parents can truly understand.

When families can confidently assess their child, recognise key signs of concern, and clearly communicate important details to healthcare providers, it ensures no time is wasted getting the right help. The section on speaking up was excellent, and the downloadable resource is a great addition.

This is a course I will wholeheartedly continue recommending to the families in my antenatal classes. Highly recommend.

M
Meg S.
This course is absolutely amazing!

This course is absolutely amazing! My partner and i are expecting our first baby in a few months and we are all about educating ourselves during pregnancy. We have been doing the online Online First Aid Course and it has been so helpful with our confidence as becoming new parents. My partner is away for work a lot and sometimes for a month at a time and having the course available online and being self paced is really great because he can access it when he is away for work and keep his knowledge up to date. Another amazing thing is that once you’ve purchased it, you have lifetime access, so we can continue to refresh our knowledge and skills as much as we like. We are both already first aid trained and i am trained with babies and children for work, but honestly this online course has so much more information available and i learnt A LOT more in this course than i did during my in person standard first aid course. I cant recommend this course enough. 5 stars all around!!

E
Eloise F.
100% recommend for new and experienced parents!

I have just completed the course and I am so glad I did. I have so much knowledge and so confident as a parent of how I can help my 2 children at home. I highly recommend every parent should do this course!

K
Kate H.
If you're on the fence about signing up, do it!

Charlotte and Teresa have done a wonderful job putting this course together. The content was informative and clearly presented, and we really enjoyed being able to watch it in our own time and at our own pace. Having resources that we could download and will be able to refer back to was an added bonus. If you're on the fence about signing up, do it!

A
Angela B.
I highly recommend this course for every new parent and grand parent!

I just completed the online first aid course for babies and children and this was a short and excellent refresher that has helped me to feel confident in the event that I may need to administer CPR or respond to choking with a baby or young child. The videos were really clear and easy to follow with simple instructions. I highly recommend this course for every new parent and grand parent!

R
Renee G.
A Must-Have for Every Parent!

I cannot recommend & Breathe’s Online Baby & Child First Aid Course enough! It’s clear, informative, and incredibly easy to follow, with expert-led videos and step-by-step demonstrations that make learning first aid simple and practical.

The course covers everything from CPR and choking to burns, fevers, and allergic reactions, giving me the confidence to act fast in an emergency. As a twin mum, it was the perfect refresher—and with another baby on the way, I feel so much more prepared.

The best part? It’s 100% online, so I could learn at my own pace and revisit sections whenever needed. Knowing I now have the skills to protect my little ones is priceless.

Every parent needs this course—thank you, & Breathe! 🚑💙

H
Holly W.
I think every parent should take this course

I recently completed the first aid online course, and I can’t recommend it enough! The flexibility to complete it in small, manageable chunks made it so easy to fit into my busy days, whether during nap times or after bedtime.

The course itself is incredibly comprehensive, covering everything you’d want to know as a parent in case of an emergency. Despite how thorough it is, the content is explained in a way that’s super easy to understand and not at all overwhelming.

Charlotte is an amazing instructor—she has such a calm and clear teaching style that really helped me feel confident in my ability to handle first-aid situations. I walked away feeling empowered and prepared, and I think every parent should take this course. It’s truly invaluable!

A
Anna C.
Perfect for those with a young family

Really enjoyed the course and found it beneficial. It provided a great refresher to standard (workplace) first aid, but the specific focus on little ones (babies and toddlers in particular) made it perfect for those with a young family. Enjoyed the resources provided (cheat sheets) and the self-paced learning. Also found it beneficial having the situation, examples, causes, symptoms and first aid really clear for a lot of different scenarios.

S
Sabrina
Exceeded all my expectations!

I recently completed the online first aid course, and it exceeded all my expectations! As a soon-to-be parent, I wanted to feel prepared for any situation, and this course delivered everything I needed.

The content is clear, practical, and incredibly well-organized, covering both life-threatening emergencies and common everyday illnesses and injuries. I loved the self-paced format—it allowed me to learn at my own speed and revisit sections whenever I needed. The material is presented in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you don’t have a medical background, and it gives you the confidence to act decisively when it matters most.

I feel so much more prepared to handle emergencies, and I’d recommend this course to any parent or caregiver. Truly a must-have resource!

J
Josh C.
I am completely blown away!

Hello Char & Teresa! Reviewed the course and content and I am completely blown away!

As a previous senior and resgistered nurse specialising in Paediatric Emergency and Trauma and managemetn @ Starship, I can completely endorse this course! Informative, concise and structured in a way that even the lowest health literacy skills can follow and learn. Learn at your own pace too which is super helpful as a busy parent.

Being a new parent is extremely stressful and anxious! I thought I would be prepared for everything with my experience, but I was quick to realise how being on the parental side changes everything.

Will be referring this course onto friend and family!

K
Kyla B.
10/10 recommend

-Bite size chunks is the most convenient way to do access this course. Love that you don’t have to rewind a full video and can go back to any bits you need. Being pregnant with a one year old myself it’s great to easily replay bits I can’t remember.

-Everything was explained so well. Demos are great for visual learners.

-Thanks for informing me about bitter blue batteries. I’d never heard of them but what a great concept.

10/10 recommend

A
Audrey S.
I will be recommending every parent, grandparent, caregiver etc to do this course

I've really loved this course.
As a nurse and mum of 2 young children myself I get asked a lot of first aid questions from friends and family. I will be recommending every parent, grandparent, caregiver etc to do this course as it's factual, easy to follow and done in your own time.
I love that we can go back to the different topics as needed and each topic is well presented and also easy to find!
10/10 recommend

D
Dominique W.
I learnt SO much from the course

I learnt SO much from the course and gladly recommend the course to any parent or caregiver.

All the info - and there's a lot of topics covered - is presented extremely clearly and the best part is you can go back and re-watch any segment to make sure you don't miss anything (a lifesaver in itself when free time as a parent is so unpredictable).

I also love how it includes lots of practical and easy tips like how to cook down a car quickly as well as more niche but equally important topics like how to advocate for your little one at the hospital. Thank you & breathe! 🙏

E
Ezel K.
100% recommend for new and experienced parents!

We can’t say enough wonderful things about the course Charlotte and Teresa have put together - based around practical, research based methods to save young lives, they are truly equipping young parents like us with life saving skills. 100% recommend for new and experienced parents!