Quantity over Quality? Not all CPR classes are the same.
Quantity Over Quality? Not All CPR Classes Are the Same
Written by Felicia Quinones
Updated October 2026 with current Minnesota childcare CPR requirements.
As a former daycare provider, I understand why childcare centers are proud to tell parents how many teachers are CPR and First Aid certified.
When a parent tours a center and hears that most or all of the staff is certified, that sounds reassuring.
But there is an important question behind that number:
Do those employees actually feel prepared to respond in an emergency?
Years ago, I attended CPR training that left me with a certification card but very little confidence.
Manikins were placed in front of a large group. The instructor demonstrated the steps, everyone followed along briefly, and before long the cards were handed out.
People chatted and joked through much of the class.
I was technically certified.
But if a child had actually stopped breathing or started choking the next day, I am not sure I would have known where to begin.
That realization still bothers me.
CPR Certification Should Mean More Than Having a Card
There is a major difference between completing a CPR class and actually learning how to respond to an emergency.
A quality CPR course should help childcare providers understand:
- How to recognize cardiac arrest
- How to perform CPR on infants and children
- How to respond to choking
- How and when to use an AED
- Why rescue breaths are especially important for children
- How to respond without wasting critical time
The goal should not simply be to satisfy a licensing requirement.
The goal is to prepare someone to act when a child needs help.
Hannah’s Law Changed Minnesota Childcare CPR Requirements
Minnesota’s childcare CPR requirements changed significantly after the death of 4-year-old Hannah Kozitza.
In June 2010, Hannah choked on a grape at a childcare center in North Mankato. At the time, Minnesota law required only one CPR-trained person to be present in a childcare center. There was not a CPR-trained provider in Hannah’s care room when the emergency occurred. Minnesota House
Her death led to legislation known as Hannah’s Law.
Minnesota enacted the law in 2011, expanding pediatric CPR training requirements for childcare center staff. MN Revisor
Hannah’s story remains a powerful reminder that CPR training is not paperwork.
It is preparation for a moment no childcare provider ever wants to face.
Minnesota Requirements Have Continued to Evolve
Minnesota’s current childcare rules go further than the original 2011 law.
For licensed childcare centers, directors, staff, substitutes, and unsupervised volunteers generally must complete pediatric First Aid and pediatric CPR training before having unsupervised direct contact with children, and within 90 days of their first direct contact. Training must then be renewed at least every other calendar year. Minnesota Children and Families
Minnesota also requires pediatric CPR training for family childcare providers and other covered caregivers, with renewal requirements that vary by provider type. Minnesota Children and Families
For many childcare providers, CPR certification is therefore required.
But the requirement is only the starting point.
Hands-On Practice Matters
Watching someone perform CPR is not the same as doing it yourself.
Good training gives students an opportunity to practice:
- Correct hand placement
- Compression depth and rate
- Infant and child CPR
- Rescue breaths
- Choking response
- AED use
Minnesota’s current family childcare CPR requirements specifically call for pediatric CPR training that incorporates psychomotor, or hands-on, skills. MN Revisor
That hands-on component matters because responding to an emergency is physical.
You need more than a memory of what an instructor once demonstrated across the room.
Children Are Not Just Small Adults
Pediatric CPR training is especially important because emergencies involving infants and children often develop differently from sudden cardiac arrest in adults.
Children are more likely to experience cardiac arrest following a breathing problem, choking, drowning, or another event that deprives the body of oxygen.
That is one reason CPR with compressions and rescue breaths is particularly important in pediatric emergencies.
Childcare providers should leave training understanding not only what steps to perform, but why those steps matter.
Choking Training Is Critical in Childcare
Hannah’s story also illustrates why choking response deserves serious attention.
Young children naturally explore the world with their mouths and are still developing their ability to chew and swallow safely.
A choking emergency can progress very quickly.
Someone caring for children should be able to recognize the difference between a child who is coughing effectively and one with a severe airway obstruction who cannot breathe, speak, or cry normally.
That is not the moment to search for instructions.
Training should already have given the provider a plan.
Parents Are Trusting Childcare Providers With More Than Supervision
When a parent leaves a child at a daycare center, preschool, camp, or other childcare program, there is an enormous amount of trust involved.
Parents reasonably expect that the people caring for their children know what to do when something goes wrong.
A CPR card hanging in an employee file may satisfy a requirement.
Competence is what matters during the emergency.
That is why childcare directors should evaluate CPR training based on more than price, class length, or how quickly they can certify a large group.
Ask whether employees will practice.
Ask whether skills will be evaluated.
Ask whether instructors explain the reasons behind the techniques.
Ask whether staff leave feeling capable of responding.
Quality CPR Training Builds Confidence
No CPR course can guarantee that someone will feel completely calm during a real emergency.
That is not realistic.
But good training can replace some of the uncertainty with a familiar sequence of actions.
Recognize the emergency.
Call for help.
Begin the appropriate care.
Use the AED when needed.
Keep going until help arrives.
The more meaningful the training, the easier it is to recall those steps when stress takes over.
CPR Training for Minnesota Childcare Providers
In-Pulse CPR provides hands-on CPR, AED, First Aid, and pediatric emergency training for individuals and organizations throughout Minnesota.
👉 View Upcoming Minnesota CPR and First Aid Classes
Childcare centers, preschools, schools, camps, and other organizations can also arrange private classes for their staff.
👉 Learn About Private On-Site CPR and First Aid Training
Being certified should mean more than being able to produce a card.
It should mean that when a child suddenly needs help, you have practiced what to do next.
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COMMENT (2)
Mollie / February 7, 2012
I am so thankful that I have staff that have a passion to ensure that people leave our classes ready to respond appropriately. Thank you for NEVER being the instructor that “plops” down the manikins in order to get done quickly and just fulfill a requirement. Thank you for taking seriously the roll that you have in the chain of survival. It is because of YOU that lives ARE being saved!
Troy Bowman / February 7, 2012
At In-Pulse CPR, our instructors are very good at what they do. They come with a real desire to teach you something ‘new’. Our teaching style includes a ‘bit’ of humor and enough interaction to keep the class engaged. We have a deep desire to teach you the why’s along with the how’s. Learning the ‘why’ helps enforce those skills you learn in class, helping you feel more confident in stepping in during an emergency. In-Pulse CPR fully endorses Hannah’s Law and the potential this law will have on the future well-being of our children.