Nothing quite prepares you for the moment your child is hurt. Your heart races, your hands shake, and everything suddenly feels urgent. First aid is not about memorising long lists — it is about a handful of simple actions you can take in the first few minutes while help is on the way. Before anything else, know your numbers. Call 999 if your child is not breathing, is unconscious, is choking and cannot cough or cry, has a severe allergic reaction, or has a burn or bleed you cannot control. Call 111 for urgent advice when you are unsure whether a problem needs A&E, and remember that your local pharmacist can often help with minor bumps, rashes and grazes the same day.
If you are ever in doubt, ring for help. Nobody will mind, and paramedics would far rather see a child who turned out to be fine than arrive too late.
Wash your hands if you can, then press firmly on the wound with a clean dressing, a sterile gauze pad or, failing that, a clean tea towel. Hold steady pressure for a full ten minutes without lifting the cloth to peek — checking too early disturbs the clot that is forming. If the injury is on a limb, raise it above the level of the child's heart while you press.
Once the bleeding has stopped, rinse the wound under cool running water, gently pat it dry, and cover it with a plaster or a low-adherent dressing. Change the dressing daily and watch for redness, swelling, warmth or pus, which can signal infection.
Take your child to a minor injuries unit or A&E if:
Move your child away from the heat source and remove clothing and jewellery from around the area — but never peel away anything that has stuck to the skin. Cool the burn under cool running water for a full 20 minutes. This still helps up to three hours after the injury, so do not skip it because time has passed. Keep the rest of your child warm with a blanket while you cool the burn, as little ones lose heat quickly.
After cooling, cover the area loosely with cling film laid over the burn rather than wrapped around it, or with a clean, non-fluffy cloth. Do not apply ice, butter, toothpaste or creams, and do not burst any blisters.
Go to A&E for any burn that is larger than the palm of your child's hand, any burn on the face, hands, feet or genitals, and any burn in a baby or toddler. Electrical and chemical burns always need medical assessment.
If your child is coughing, crying or speaking, the airway is partly clear. Encourage them to keep coughing and stay close by. Step in only if the cough becomes silent, they cannot breathe, or their face starts to change colour.
For a baby under one, lay them face down along your forearm with their head lower than their body and give up to five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If that does not work, turn them over and give five chest thrusts using two fingers on the centre of the chest. For a child over one, give five back blows and then five abdominal thrusts, pulling sharply inwards and upwards just above the navel.
Call 999 if the object does not come out. Alternate five back blows with five thrusts and, if your child becomes unconscious, begin CPR — 30 chest compressions to two rescue breaths, pushing hard and fast at a rate of about 100 to 120 compressions a minute.
Mild reactions — a few hives, an itchy mouth, a runny nose — usually settle with an antihistamine, but keep watching, as symptoms can escalate. Signs of a severe reaction, or anaphylaxis, include swelling of the face, lips or throat, a hoarse voice, noisy or laboured breathing, widespread hives, and a child who turns pale, floppy or drowsy.
If you have been prescribed an adrenaline auto-injector, use it without hesitation into the outer thigh, note the time, and call 999. Lay your child flat with their legs raised — do not let them stand or walk, as this can cause a sudden collapse. If there is no improvement after five minutes, a second dose can be given into the other thigh.
Keep a well-stocked first aid kit somewhere you can reach without hunting: plasters, sterile gauze, bandages, a thermometer, antiseptic wipes, children's paracetamol or ibuprofen, and any prescribed medication with clear instructions. Keep a note of your child's allergies and emergency contacts on the fridge and in your phone.
Finally, consider a hands-on paediatric first aid course. Practical skills fade quickly, and a two-hour session with a qualified trainer will give you far more confidence than reading alone. Refresh it every couple of years, and remember that being calm, calling for help early, and doing the basics well is more than enough.
Kid Safe shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on child safety and family wellbeing for uk families for readers across the UK.
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