CPR Training - Children
CPR for children, CPR training including use of a defibrillator
CPR on children differs in technique and execution compared to adults. Differences in guidelines are due in part to physical differences, but also to underlying causes of cardiac arrest. Additionally, guidelines differ between children ages 0-1 and 1-18 years. This CPR training is specifically focused on CPR on children, and is particularly suitable for preschools or other organizations that work with children.
How to perform CPR on a child, age 0-1 years
Open the child’s airway by placing a finger under the child’s chin and gently lift so that the tip of the nose points straight up. Place your mouth over the baby’s nose and mouth and gently blow out until you see the baby’s chest rise. There should be about as much air as you have in your mouth. Give five rescue breaths in succession. Lift your own head between each rescue breath and breathe in fresh air.
Place two fingers on the child’s chest, in the middle of the lower part of the sternum. Then press down the chest about 4 cm at a rate of 100-120 BPM 15 times. Fully release the chest between compressions. Give two rescue breaths.
Continue with series of 15 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths until medical personnel have arrived, or until the child is breathing normally again.
Keep in mind that in order to learn the method properly, and have the right technique, you need to attend practical training with an instructor.
How to perform CPR on a child, aged 1-18 years
Open the child’s airway by placing two fingers under the child’s chin and one hand on the forehead. Tilt the head back, and pinch the nose with your thumb and forefinger. Cover the child’s mouth with your mouth and blow air until you see the chest rise. The amount of air required depends on the child’s size but should not be more than you use for a regular breath. Do five rescue breaths in a row. Lift your own head between each rescue breath and breathe in fresh air.
Place one hand on the child’s chest, in the middle of the lower part of the sternum. Then press down the chest about 4-6 cm, depending on the child’s size, approximately a third of the chest depth, at a rate of 100-120 BPM, fifteen times. Give two rescue breaths.
Continue with sets of fifteen chest compressions and two rescue breaths until medical personnel arrive, or until the child is breathing normally again.
Remember that in order to learn the method properly and get the right technique, you need to attend a practical training with an instructor.
When should you perform CPR?
CPR should be initiated when a child is unconscious and not breathing normally.
It’s important to remember that an unconscious child who is breathing abnormally, such as with slow, shallow, gasping, or snoring breaths, should be treated the same as an unconscious child who is not breathing at all.
No need to check the pulse before starting CPR
If an unconscious child is not breathing normally, CPR should be started immediately. You don’t need to check the pulse before starting CPR.
How to assess consciousness on a child
To determine if a child is conscious, speak to them and gently shake their shoulders. If they do not respond, check to see if they are breathing
How to assess breathing on a child
Open airway, child age 0-1
Open the child’s airway by placing a finger under the child’s chin and gently lift so that the tip of the nose points straight up
Open airway child age 1-18 years
Open the child’s airway by placing two fingers under the chin and one hand on the forehead, then tilt the head back to create an open airway.
Assess Breathing, children age 0-18 years
To assess breathing , put your ear close to the child’s mouth and nose looking at their chest.
- See – If the chest is moving
- Listen for breathing
- Feel – if there is breathing coming from the patient’s mouth and nose.
Do not spend more than 10 seconds checking for breathing, and if normal breathing cannot be detected, begin CPR.
How to use a defibrillator on a child
A defibrillator is used by placing two electrodes on the child’s chest according to instructive pictures. The defibrillator then analyzes the heart’s electrical activity and determines if there is need for defibrillation.
If needed, the defibrillator charges up and delivers a shock to the child’s heart. There are both fully automatic models that administer a shock on their own and semi-automatic models where the user needs to press a button to administer the shock.
If there is no electrical activity in the heart or if the heart still has a pulse, the defibrillator will not charge. Instead, it will advise continuing CPR.
After two minutes, the defibrillator performs a new analysis of the heart rhythm.
It is rare for a child to have a cardiac arrest that needs to be defibrillated. But if a defibrillator is available, it should still be used without delaying CPR. For children under 25 kg, child electrodes or a child mode should be used if available. If not available, adult electrodes or an adult mode should be used. For smaller children, you may need to place one electrode on the chest and one on the back.
If the child starts breathing again after being treated with the defibrillator, leave the electrodes in place until medical personnel arrive.
How to help a choking child age 0-1 years
If you suspect that an infant is choking, start by checking if the child can cough independently.
If the infant cannot cough, place the infant face down on your forearm and lean the infant downward. Support the head with one hand and deliver five back blows between the shoulder blades with the other hand.
If the infant still cannot breathe, turn the infant so that the infant lies on its back on your forearm, and lean the infant downward. Support the head with your hand and use two fingers to give five chest compressions.
Alternate between five back blows and five chest compressions until the infant can breathe again.
If the infant loses consciousness, call 112 immediately and start CPR.
Remember that to learn these methods properly, and to get the correct technical skills, you need to participate in a practical training class with an instructor.
How to help a child who is choking, age 1-18 years
If you suspect that a child is choking, start by checking if the child can cough independently.
If the child cannot cough, stand next to the child. Place one hand as support high up in the middle of the chest and ask the child to lean forward. Give the child five blows with the heel of your hand between the shoulder blades.
If the child still cannot breathe, stand close behind the child and ask the child to lean forward. Put your arms around the child’s body, under the child’s arms. Clasp your hands and place them between the navel and chest of the child. Give the child five abdominal thrusts. Aim inward and upward.
Alternate between five back thrusts and five abdominal thrusts until the child can breathe again.
If the child loses consciousness, call 112 immediately and start CPR.
Remember that in order to learn these methods and get the right technical skills, you need to attend a practical training session with an instructor.
Whats most important when choosing a CPR training children?
Sometimes it can be difficult to sort through all the different courses, but the most important thing is that the organizer follows the guidelines for CPR training for children set by the CPR Council.
The focus of the course is on practical exercises where you perform all the maneuvers together with an instructor in a controlled environment. The maneuvers differ between children aged 0-2 years old and children aged 1-18 years old, and you will practice each technique practically. This way you can memorize the maneuvers, tempo, and muscle strength to be able to recall them even in a stressful situation. Learning through muscle memory should not be underestimated, and for example, each participant should make at least 240 compressions during a course.
Research is ongoing, and the guidelines are updated every five years, with the current guidelines being from the fall of 2021.
What equipment are used on a CPR training children
There are various types of CPR child manikins available, ranging from basic inflatable models to full-body manikins used for healthcare personnel training. During our company and association training, we use the professional Little Junior and Baby Anne manikins from Laerdal for optimal training on compressions and rescue breaths.
As an exercise defibrillator, we use Prestan’s AED Ultratrainer and also demonstrate at least one live model to give you the best possible experience.
How much is a CPR training children?
The price for a CPR child training is 5795 SEK (excluding VAT) and is valid for a group of maximum 12 participants.
A training in Child CPR and accidents costs 7795 SEK (excluding VAT) and is valid for a group of maximum 12 participants.
Because we follow the CPR Council’s recommendations, the groups are limited to twelve participants per instructor.
In addition to these two standardized trainings, we often create customized trainings tailored to a specific industry or work situation. Sometimes you may want to limit the content to be relevant to an office environment, but it could also be about expanding or specifying the training, for example, around electric injuries.”
Got more questions? Please get in touch!
Content CPR Training Children
We start the course with about 30 minutes of theory. During this time, we review the purpose and goals of CPR, as well as the differences between adults and children. We also go through the action plan, which includes checking safety of the scene, and consciousness and breathing of the child, and how to make a call to 112.
The rest of the training focuses on practical exercises using manikins. You will be given the opportunity to practice compressions and rescue breaths in various exercises, for both infants and older children, as well as how to use a defibrillator.
We conclude the CPR training by reviewing techniques for airway obstruction.
Terms CPR training children
The price for CPR Child training is 5795 SEK (excluding VAT).
We follow the guidelines of the CPR council, which states a maximum of 12 participants per instructor.
An instructor will come to your workplace, and the course will take 2 hours.
We are available here
- Enköping
- Eskilstuna
- Mariefred
- Norrtälje
- Nynäshamn
- Nyköping
- Stockholm
- Strängnäs
- Södertälje
- Uppsala
- Vagnhärad
- Värmdö
- Västerås