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Civilian Emergency Platform
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A child who is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Their heart may have stopped.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — NOT EXPERT REVIEWED — NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — The child does not respond when you tap their shoulders and shout their name.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Their chest is not rising and falling, or breathing is gasping and abnormal.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — They may have turned blue or grey around lips and fingernails.
Scene hazards: Traffic, Water, Electrical hazard
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Check the scene is safe — remove obvious dangers if you can do so quickly.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tap both shoulders and shout the child's name loudly.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — If no response — call 112 immediately or tell someone else to call while you start compressions.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Lay the child on a firm, flat surface on their back.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Place the heel of one hand (or two hands for a larger child) on the center of the chest.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Push down about one-third the depth of the chest — roughly 5 cm (2 inches) — at 100 to 120 pushes per minute.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Let the chest come fully back up between each push. Do not lean on the chest.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112. Say: "A child is not breathing. I am doing CPR. Send an ambulance immediately."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tell them the child's approximate age and what you think happened (choking, drowning, unknown).
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Stay on the line if possible — the operator can guide you.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Every child in cardiac arrest needs emergency hospital care. Do not stop CPR until professionals take over.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — If the child starts breathing before help arrives, roll them on their side and keep watching — they still need an ambulance.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT delay CPR to look for a pulse.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT use adult-force compressions on a small child — push one-third chest depth, not more.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT give up because the child is small — compressions can still save their life.
MYTH: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — You should not do CPR on a child because you might hurt them
REALITY: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A child without compressions will die. Push one-third chest depth — imperfect CPR is far better than none.
DANGER: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Fear of causing harm stops people from starting life-saving compressions.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — In children, cardiac arrest is often caused by breathing problems — choking, drowning, asthma attack, or a severe injury — rather than a heart attack.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A child's heart can stop within minutes if they cannot breathe. Compressions must start immediately.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — For this guide, "child" means roughly 1 year old up to puberty. Infants under 1 year need different technique.