Parents In The Dark About Child First Aid

With the summer holidays approaching, more children than ever are expected to end up in A&E with their parents.

Each year in UK, one million children under the age of 16 are bundled off to A & E departments as a result of accidents in and around the home. Almost half of which are babies and toddlers under the age of 5.

Yet, according to new research released today, parents have little or no knowledge of basic and life-saving first aid to help their children should an accident occur.

Whilst the majority of parents feel confident dealing with bruises, cuts and grazes and taking temperatures, research shows that their confidence plummets when posed with delivering first aid for broken bones, choking, head injuries and other more serious incidents- with just 39% of mums and dads able to deliver anything but basic first aid.

Commissioned by Elastoplast, the research reveals that mums are better prepared than dads in the first aid stakes, with a third of dads admitting their skills amount to just putting on plasters and giving a dose of Calpol.

However, 42% of mums are confident in performing ‘serious’ first aid including CPR and resuscitation as well as broken bones.

Other key findings from the research: more