First aid for babies and children: Everything you need to know about paediatric first aid

We know thinking about your child hurting themselves is not something you want to cross your mind often, but it’s important to be prepared if the worst does happen and your little one has an accident.

There is some basic first aid for children advice that is helpful for all parents to read up on, covering incidents like burns or cuts. Different aged children will need different kinds of first aid attention, so as your family grows your paediatric first aid knowledge needs to as well.

We’ve put together some top tips that you can do at home, covering both baby first aid and paediatric first aid for slightly older children. Spend a few minutes brushing up on these pointers and it could help you in an emergency situations.

Baby first aid
If your child is less than one year old then they may require slightly different first aid attention to that of an older child. When administering first aid to a baby it is important to consider their small frame and to be gentle with them.

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Paediatric first aid
If you have a child aged one or above and they have an accident, they may require paediatric first aid. If you already have a basic understanding of first aid this will help you in treating a little one, but some techniques may be different so it’s important to read up regardless. We’ve covered everything from minor incidents such as nosebleeds to life or death situations like if a child stops breathing and needs CPR.

Below you can find specific guidance on different basic first aid for children techniques, if you read them now whilst you’re in a calm frame of mind you may retain the information better and you will know where you can find this information again in an emergency.

Child CPR: How to resuscitate a child