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Simple Steps for CPR on Children

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is an emergency life saving procedure performed using rescue breathing and chest compressions to provide air and pump blood to the body. If a child's blood flow stops for more than a minute, brain damage or death could result. The American Heart Association notes that "...[e]ffective bystander CPR, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim's chance of survival." Only a few simple steps are necessary to provide CPR for a child.

  1. Get Help

    • Shout for someone to call 911. If no other person is available to call 911 for you, perform CPR on the child for at least two minutes before going to call for emergency services yourself.

    Breathe

    • Tilt the child's head back by placing one hand behind his neck and applying pressure with the other on his forehead. Place your ear next to the child's mouth to listen for breathing, feel breath on your cheek and look at his chest to see if it rises and falls. If the child is not breathing pinch his nose, cover his mouth with yours and give two breaths. Each breath should take one second and make the child's chest rise and fall.

    Pump

    • Compress the chest by placing the heel of one hand on the center of the breastbone, ensuring that you don't press on the end of the sternum. Press down on the child's breastbone, compressing the chest to 1/3 of its depth. Repeat this process very quickly 30 times while counting aloud, letting the chest completely rise after each compression. Continue shouting for help if you haven't received any yet.

    Repeat

    • Breathe for the child twice more and continue chest compressions for two minutes. At this point if you have not received help, leave the child and call 911. Return to the child as quickly as possible and repeat CPR, beginning with breathing, until medical help arrives.

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