CPR and Choking Emergencies

You are part of a teaching team in the toddler class. The Children are playing in various areas in the classroom. You notice one of your children is out of eyesight. You walk over to the Dramatic Play area to see 19 month old sitting on the floor trying to cough up something. Next to her is a bag of pretzels she most of been eating. First I would have to act immediately and try to remain calm (Robertson, 2013, pg.179). I would call for assistance from my co-worker to help maintain the other children. Then I will assess the child from head to, checking for any other injuries. Once I have the child in a safe area, I will begin the Heimlich maneuver to help the child bring up the piece of the pretzel that is blocking her wind pipe. Once the object is released I will again assess the child and then make the call to the family about the incident.

Another situation could be a ten month old infant is napping in his crib. He starts gagging and cannot lift his head. You rush over to him but he has stop breathing. Immediately do a quick head to toe assessment and ask for someone to call 911. Next tap and flick the soles of the baby’s feet to check for a response. If not place infant on a firm, flat surface and begin CPR. Then I will immediately begin to perform CPR on the child to help the child to breathe on their own. First open the airway by placing your hand on the infant’s forehead with gentle pressure. Then using two fingers on the breastbone directly between the baby’s nipples compress the chest thirty times with a 1/3 – ½ depth of the chest at a rate of about twice per second. After compressions cover the baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and gently breath into the infant’s mouth and nose until you see the chest rise. Once the child has begun to breathe on his own I would keep the child comfortable while we wait on the emergency personal to arrive. The family would be notified and informed of the incident and given directions on where the child’s location is if needed to be rushed to nearby hospital.

It is very important to have a plan of action in place for any type of emergency. Children are more at risk for permanent brain damage or even death if the right precautions are not in being given to a child in need. That is why I encourage any and every one that decides to work with young children to know the importance of proper care and training is to keeping a child safe. Every individual who work with young children need to trained in CPR and First Aid. Having this training is very crucial to saving a child’s life. Also knowing where the emergency numbers are, the location of the emergency bag and family emergency contacts are just as important. To ensure that all staff are aware of these locations, monthly evaluations need to be done to keep information fresh in minds of the staff. This way no one can forget or not know where these key items are.

References

Robertson,C.,(2013) Safety, Nutrition and Health in Early Childhood Education. (5th ed), Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Bellmont, CA.