Parents 'lack grasp of first aid'

Accidents land a million children in hospital each year

More than 80% of parents lack a basic grasp of first aid which could help save the life of their child, a survey has revealed.

A poll for the Mother & Baby Magazine found 84% of mothers and fathers did not know what to do if their child fell over, started choking, or was burned.

And of 1,000 parents questioned, just 12% thought their home was "very safe".

Magazine editor Elena Dalrymple said it was "shocking" that so few had taken basic safety measures.

Only 10% of those asked had a cooker guard and only 34% had a residual circuit breaker, which could prevent their child suffering an electric shock.

Tragedy

Almost half of parents with an open, gas or electric fire did not have a fireguard, while 44% had not put locks on kitchen cupboard doors.

The survey also found that 30% of children lived in a house with a pond in the garden, more than half of which were not covered or fenced in.

Ms Dalrymple said: "An open pond is a tragedy waiting to happen. Children are naturally attracted to water and can drown in just two inches."

According to the magazine, around a million children a year need hospital treatment after accidents in the home - half of them aged under four.

It's shocking so many parents haven't taken basic safety measures to protect their children Elena Dalrymple, Mother & Baby magazin

Around 100 a year die from accidents, many of which could have been prevented.

Ms Dalrymple said: "A simple lock on a kitchen cupboard or garden gate can mean the difference between life and death.

"It's shocking so many parents haven't taken basic safety measures to protect their children."

The survey found most parents did not know how to react if a child suffered a fit or convulsion, started choking, or swallowed a poisonous substance - all relatively common occurrences.

Mother & Baby Magazine has launched the Save a Life campaign with supermarket Tesco and St John Ambulance to give more first aid training to parents.

First aid courses are being run by St John Ambulance at Tesco stores, teaching skills to deal with choking, bleeding, asthma, burns and poisoning and other emergencies.