Parents lack first-aid skills

Parents lack first-aid skills

First-aid skills are at a premium

Nearly nine out of 10 parents in Britain do not know simple first-aid which could save their child's life, a survey suggests.

The research, commissioned by Mother and Baby magazine, also found that three-quarters of grandparents have never had any first-aid training.

In addition, two-thirds of parents did not think their child's carer would know what to do in a medical emergency.

Every year more than half a million children under five need to go to casualty after accidents at home, and 100 die.

It's shocking so few parents know how to help their child

Dani Zur

The survey of 2,000 parents found just 14% felt they knew enough first aid to save the life of their child.

More than a third of parents had seen their child choke and 70% did not know what to do.

Some 11% said their child had knocked themselves out and 82% did not know how to handle the situation.

Overall, 81% of mothers said being a parent was more worrying than they had imagined and 73% said "worrying about their child's safety stressed them out".

Wake-up call

Dani Zur, editor of Mother and Baby, said: "Mums could alleviate some of their worries if they felt confident they could save their child's life if they had to.

Lack of safety in the home

Only 23% of parents have a residual circuit breaker to prevent electric shocks

Only 11% have fitted a hob/cooker guard

Only 24% have a safety kettle flex

51% don't have a guard on their fire

"It's shocking so few parents know how to help their child and we hope this survey will be a wake-up call to parents.

"Learning basic life-saving techniques should be top of every parent's list of priorities."

Mother and Baby magazine is joining forces with St John Ambulance to hold first aid courses around the UK aimed at people looking after babies and young children.

Jon Cunningham, training manager at St John Ambulance, said: "This research has shown that parents often don't have the confidence or knowledge to deal with an emergency situation.

"These courses will give parents the skills they need to save a life."