CPR and Choking Emergencies -

There are many different scenarios where a child may be choking or require the aid of CPR. In every one, the adults who surround the child should have a basic plan as to how to aid the child and best respond to the emergency as it is happening. In this way, the child has the best likelihood of surviving and being only mildly traumatized. It is this need to save a child and limit the trauma and fear they face that we as adults need to have a thorough understanding.

     The first emergency scenario involves a typical day in the prekindergarten class at a preschool facility. Since it is summertime, hot dogs with all the trappings are a treat the children get to enjoy, often outside in the play area. As the prekindergarten teacher is watching her students, she notices that one student seems to be struggling to swallow. The teacher calmly walks over to the student and asks him if he is ok. The child cannot speak and shakes his head no, tears are now streaming down his face and other children are starting to notice and become agitated. Despite the fear and adrenaline racing through the teachers body, she tries to calm explain that this little boy seems to be choking and how she is going to help him. First, she sends one child to the door to have someone inside call 911. Next the teacher begins to tell the child and class how she is going to perform the Heimlich maneuver and with each step she describes, she also completes this step. Thankfully, on the third push, the piece of hot dog is dislodged and the little boy takes in a large breath. Once the children are all safely back inside and the little boy is on his way home with his parents, the teacher is able to fill out an accident report for her, the preschool, and the family (Robertson, 2010, p. 179).

     There are so many reasons that every person who works with or around children should be first aid and CPR certified. In this situation, because the teacher was up-to-date on her training and had confidence in her abilities, she was able to perform the Heimlich maneuver as well as keep the other children in the class reassured. While the students may be briefly traumatized, they are also likely to be confident in the fact that their teacher is capable of handling many emergency situations. In this case, there are very few steps that an adult can take to prepare for a choking emergency aside from being knowledgeable about first aid. Because of this teacher calmness and knowledge, she was able to save a child’s life and keep the rest of the class calm and safe.

     Allergies can cause many kinds of emergencies and this scenario of a three year old girl at home babysitters can happen anywhere. This little girl is severely allergic to bee stings and while her in-home childcare teacher always takes every precaution possible, one day this three year old runs across the backyard in her sandals and gets a sting on the foot. While normally the childcare professional has an Epi pen in case of these emergencies, today the sitter is unable to find it in its normal place in her bag. As the sitter assesses the situation, she too tries to keep her other two children calm. After carefully checking the little girl from head to foot, the sitter has ascertained that she is not breathing and therefore she must start CPR (Robertson, 2010, p.178). Much like the prekindergarten teacher, the childcare professional asks that the oldest child goes inside and calls 911. Next, the childcare professional begins CPR on the little girl and after many rounds of CPR and constant reassurance of the other children, the three year old starts breathing again. The child is then covered with a blanket and kept warm, in case of shock and the childcare professional has called her parents to come (Robertson, 2010, p. 179). As the small group waits for the three year olds family and emergency help to arrive, they talk about the emergency and the steps they all took to ensure the young child’s safety.

      One of the main reasons that this situation also had a positive outcome is because this childcare professional took all the correct steps to be prepared for many emergencies. She is current on her first aid and CPR training, she was able to remain calm, and have the other children assist her by calling for emergency assistance and getting a blanket for the child. This preparedness has provided confidence in her ability to keep her students as safe as possible. Since the Epi-pen was not where it should have been, this childcare provider has made a change to her emergency response plan and this is to check the child’s belongings every day to make certain she has this vital medicine and that it is known where it is. By being more aware of this need for the medicine, the childcare professional is more prepared for an emergency situation.

     When a person decides to work with children, they need to realize that they become a group of children’s main protection as well as their educator. Being certified in CPR and first aid allows for the responsible childcare provider to be prepared for many emergency situations that require quick and immediate decisions that could be essential to saving a child’s life. This is a major responsibility that childcare professionals must remain current on to maintain safety in a classroom or any other situation. I have not worked in the childcare setting for almost eight years; however, because I have children and many nieces and nephews, I am current on these two vital emergency procedures. It is extremely important to me to be able to help children in many different ways and being prepared for many different kinds of emergencies is crucial to this.

Reference

Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (4th Ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Red Cross. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.redcross.org