CPR & AED for Babies & Children

For the purposes of paediatric basic life support, how does Resuscitation Council UK (2025) define an infant?

• AA child under 2 years of age
• BA baby under 1 year of age✓
• CA child under 5 years of age
• DA baby under 6 months of age

Answer: Resuscitation Council UK treats anyone under 1 year as an infant, which decides the airway position, the two-thumb compression technique and mouth-and-nose rescue breaths. A child is anyone aged 1 to 12 years, with adolescents 13 to 18, so the 2-year and 5-year cut-offs are not used, and 6 months is not a boundary in the guidance at all.

A trained paediatric first aider finds a three-year-old collapsed on the nursery floor. After confirming the area is safe, what should they do first?

• AGive five rescue breaths immediately before any other assessment
• BBegin chest compressions straight away at 100 to 120 per minute
• CCheck for a response using verbal and gentle tactile stimulation✓
• DFetch the nearest AED from the staff room before assessing the child

Answer: The trained sequence moves from safety to assessing response with a voice and gentle touch, never a painful stimulus, before calling for help and opening the airway. Rescue breaths and compressions come only after breathing has been checked, and a lone rescuer prioritises calling and CPR over leaving to collect an AED.

Once CPR has begun on a child, which of these is a reason to stop?

• AThe child shows clear signs of life such as breathing normally✓
• BA parent arrives and asks you to stop so they can hold the child
• CTwo minutes have passed and the child has not yet responded
• DThe ambulance has been called and is on its way to the setting

Answer: Resuscitation Council UK says not to interrupt CPR unless the child shows clear signs of life or the AED tells you to stop, and first aid training adds a professional taking over or the rescuer becoming exhausted. A fixed time limit, a parent's understandable distress, or knowing an ambulance is on its way are not reasons to stop compressions and breaths.

When checking whether an unresponsive child is breathing normally, what is the maximum time a rescuer should spend looking, listening and feeling?

• A20 seconds
• B5 seconds
• C10 seconds✓
• D30 seconds

Answer: Resuscitation Council UK says to look, listen and feel for breathing and signs of life for no longer than 10 seconds, and if in doubt to act as though breathing is not normal. Five seconds is too short to judge occasional gasps, while 20 or 30 seconds delays rescue breaths and compressions in a child who is most likely in hypoxic arrest.

A three-year-old is lifted out of a garden paddling pool limp and not breathing. After calling for help, what should the first aider do first?

• AGive five rescue breaths, then begin chest compressions✓
• BBegin chest compressions at once, leaving out rescue breaths
• CHold the child head-down over your knee until water drains out
• DPress on the abdomen to expel swallowed water, then begin CPR

Answer: Drowning is a hypoxic arrest, so CPR starts with five rescue breaths exactly as in the standard paediatric sequence, followed by compressions. Attempts to expel water waste time and risk vomiting, compression-only CPR omits the oxygen the child most needs, and holding a child head-down does not clear the airway. Every drowned child goes to hospital afterwards even if they appear to recover.

A nursery practitioner who has been specifically trained in paediatric basic life support is giving CPR to a four-year-old on their own. Which compression-to-breath ratio should they use after the initial breaths?

• A15 compressions to 2 breaths✓
• B5 compressions to 1 breath
• C30 compressions to 2 breaths
• D15 compressions to 5 breaths

Answer: Rescuers specifically trained in paediatric basic life support continue at 15:2 after the five initial rescue breaths. A rescuer without that training, or one following call-handler instructions, uses 30:2, while 5:1 and 15:5 are not ratios found in the current guidance.

A parent helper with no first aid training rings 999 when a child collapses at a nursery event. Which CPR pattern will the call handler talk them through?

• AFive initial rescue breaths, then 30 compressions to 2 breaths✓
• BContinuous chest compressions only, with no rescue breaths at any stage
• CTwo initial rescue breaths, then 30 compressions to 2 breaths
• DFive initial rescue breaths, then 15 compressions to 2 breaths

Answer: Call handlers instruct untrained bystanders, and people trained only in adult BLS, to give five initial rescue breaths and then continue at 30:2. The 15:2 ratio is for people specifically trained in paediatric life support, two initial breaths is not used for children, and compression-only CPR is advised only where the rescuer is unwilling or unable to give breaths.

A member of the public is unwilling to give mouth-to-mouth breaths to a collapsed child. According to Resuscitation Council UK, what should they do?

• AGive chest compressions only, without pausing for breaths✓
• BPlace the child in the recovery position until help arrives
• CWait for the ambulance without touching the child at all
• DGive rescue breaths only, without any chest compressions

Answer: Compression-only CPR is far better than no CPR, so a rescuer who is unwilling or unable to give breaths should keep compressing. Doing nothing or leaving the child in the recovery position abandons a child who is not breathing normally, and breaths without compressions do not circulate oxygenated blood.

When giving a rescue breath to a baby under 1 year, how should the rescuer deliver it?

• ACover the baby's nose only with your mouth and blow gently for about 1 second until the cheeks visibly puff out
• BCover the baby's mouth only with your mouth and blow as hard as you can for about 3 seconds until the chest visibly rises
• CCover the baby's mouth and nose with your mouth and blow steadily for about 1 second until the chest visibly rises✓
• DPinch the baby's nose closed then blow sharply into the mouth only for about 2 seconds until the chest visibly rises

Answer: For an infant the rescuer seals both the mouth and the nose and blows steadily for about a second, watching for the chest to rise. Pinching the nose and sealing only the mouth is the technique for an older child, blowing hard or for several seconds pushes air into the stomach, and puffed cheeks show the air has not reached the lungs.

During rescue breaths for a two-year-old, the chest does not rise. What should the rescuer do?

• ASweep a finger blindly around the back of the mouth to hook out anything that may be lodged there
• BBlow with much more force on the next breath so that air is pushed past whatever is blocking the airway
• CTurn the child face down and give five sharp back blows before trying any further rescue breaths
• DRe-position the head and remove an obstruction only if it is clearly visible and easy to reach✓

Answer: A chest that does not rise most often means the head position is wrong, so re-open the airway and take out only an obstruction you can actually see. A blind finger sweep can push an object deeper or damage the throat, forcing the breath inflates the stomach, and back blows belong to the choking sequence for a conscious child rather than to CPR.

Where should chest compressions be delivered on a child of any age?

• AOver the left side of the chest
• BOn the upper half of the sternum
• COn the top of the abdomen below the ribs
• DOn the lower half of the sternum✓

Answer: Resuscitation Council UK places compressions on the lower half of the breastbone at every age, which sits over the heart without pressing on the tip of the sternum. The upper sternum and the left chest wall do not compress the heart effectively, and pressing on the abdomen risks injuring the liver and does nothing for circulation.

Which compression technique does Resuscitation Council UK recommend for a baby under 1 year?

• AThe heels of both hands on the sternum with one placed on top of the other
• BTwo fingers of one hand on the sternum with the wrist kept bent
• CThe heel of one hand on the sternum with the arm kept straight
• DTwo thumbs on the sternum with both hands encircling the chest✓

Answer: The two-thumb encircling technique is the method Resuscitation Council UK names for infants, with the thumbs on the lower half of the sternum and the fingers wrapped round the chest. The one-hand and two-hand techniques are for children over 1 year, and the two-finger method is not what the 2025 guidance specifies for a baby.

What compression depth does the 2025 guidance set for a child aged from 1 up to 12 years old?

• AExactly 5 to 6 cm at every age, the same as for an adult casualty
• BAt least one third of the chest's front-to-back depth, never more than 6 cm✓
• CAt least one half of the chest's front-to-back depth, never more than 8 cm
• DAt least one quarter of the chest's front-to-back depth, never more than 4 cm

Answer: Compressions should push down at least a third of the chest's depth, with a firm upper limit of 6 cm at any age. A quarter is too shallow to generate blood flow, half the chest depth would exceed the 6 cm cap in most children, and the fixed 5 to 6 cm figure applies only to adolescents aged 13 to 18 years.

A childminder is alone in a park with an unresponsive, non-breathing baby and has left their mobile phone at home. What does the 2025 guidance say they should do?

• AGive about 5 minutes of CPR before leaving the baby to get help
• BGive about 1 minute of CPR before leaving the baby to get help✓
• CLeave the baby straight away to find a phone and then return to start CPR
• DContinue CPR without leaving the baby until somebody happens to pass by

Answer: A lone rescuer who cannot call from where they are should perform about a minute of CPR first, because paediatric arrest is usually hypoxic and early breaths and compressions matter most. Five minutes delays the ambulance too long, leaving before any CPR loses the most valuable minute, and waiting indefinitely for a passer-by means help may never be called.

A childminder alone with an unresponsive, non-breathing child has a mobile phone in their pocket and knows an AED is at a shop two streets away. What does the 2025 guidance tell them to prioritise?

• ARunning to fetch the AED first, because an early shock matters more than early CPR
• BGiving 1 minute of CPR, then leaving the child to fetch the AED before calling 999
• CCalling 999 on the phone's speaker and starting CPR, rather than leaving to fetch the AED✓
• DCarrying the child to the shop with the AED so the defibrillator can be attached quickly

Answer: A single rescuer with a phone calls the ambulance service on speaker and gets on with CPR; fetching a defibrillator is left to a second person if one arrives. Paediatric arrest is most often caused by lack of oxygen, so abandoning the child to fetch an AED, or carrying them away from where CPR could be given, loses precious time. The one-minute-then-leave rule applies only to a rescuer with no phone at all.

An AED with a paediatric setting is brought to a collapsed six-year-old who weighs about 20 kg. How should it be used?

• ADo not use the AED at all, because it is only for children over 8 years
• BUse the standard adult mode, because the child is over 5 years old
• CUse the paediatric mode only if the child weighs less than 10 kg
• DSwitch on the paediatric mode, because the child is under 25 kg✓

Answer: Resuscitation Council UK says to activate paediatric mode, if the device has one, for infants and children under 25 kg, which is roughly under 8 years old. Age five is not the threshold, an AED is used for children of all ages, and 10 kg is not a figure in the guidance; if no paediatric option exists the adult mode is used rather than withholding the AED.