How to teach your kid basic first aid (and when to get help)

A preteen who knows basic first aid is a calmer preteen. When a little brother scrapes his knee or a friend touches a hot pan, they know what to do, and, just as importantly, when to get a grown-up.

This post covers two skills from the Health Detective part of Family Quests: noticing how your body feels, and learning first aid. All practice happens with pretend injuries and a grown-up beside them.

Part 1: Be a health detective

Before first aid comes noticing. For one week, your child keeps simple notes:

At the end of the week, look for one pattern together. Common ones: "I have more energy after I sleep longer," or "I feel better on days I move."

Two numbers to compare against:

• Sleep: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 9 to 12 hours a night for ages 6 to 12.
• Movement: the CDC recommends at least 60 minutes of activity a day for ages 6 to 17.

Keep this curious, not critical. The point is for kids to notice their own bodies, not to judge their food or sleep.

Part 2: Know your first aid kit

Open the family first aid kit together and name what each thing is for:

Medicines in the kit are for grown-ups to give, never kids. Then decide together where the kit lives, so everyone knows where to find it.

Part 3: Clean and cover a scrape

The American Academy of Pediatrics' steps for a small cut or scrape:

1. Wash your hands first.
2. Stop the bleeding with pressure. Press a clean gauze pad or cloth firmly over the area for 5 to 10 minutes. The AAP says almost all bleeding can be stopped with direct pressure.
3. Wash the wound gently with soap and water for 5 minutes, once the bleeding stops.
4. Cover it with gauze or a bandage if it's likely to get dirty.

Get a grown-up right away if the cut is deep, gaping, bleeding heavily or on the face. The AAP says these may need a doctor and possibly stitches. For heavy bleeding, call 911 and press hard on the wound.

Part 4: Cool a burn

The AAP's advice for a minor burn:

• Cool it under cool running water right away, long enough to ease the pain.
• No ice. It can delay healing.
• No butter, grease or powder. These can make it worse.
• Don't rub it, which can increase blistering.

Get a grown-up for any burn, and especially if it blisters, is bigger than a small spot, or is on the hands or mouth. The AAP says burns on the hands or mouth should get medical attention right away. We cover burn prevention in the kitchen in cooking on the stove.

Part 5: When to get help

This is the most important part of first aid at any age:

• Get a grown-up for anything more than a small scrape or bump.
• Call 911 if someone is badly hurt, bleeding heavily, not breathing, not waking up, or if there's a fire.
• Know your address. A 911 operator will ask where you are.
• Stay calm and stay with the person until a grown-up arrives.

Practice a pretend 911 call at home, with a toy phone: "My name is ___. My brother fell and he's not waking up. We're at ___."

The mastery test: a pretend first aid drill

With a grown-up watching, your child treats three pretend injuries:

1. A scrape: wash hands, pressure, clean, cover.
2. A minor burn: show how to cool it under running water.
3. A splinter: explain that a grown-up handles splinters with clean tweezers.

Then they explain, for each one, when they'd get a grown-up instead. Knowing when not to handle something alone is a sign of a real first aider.

For older kids who want to go further, many community centers and youth groups offer kid-friendly first aid and babysitting courses.

Make it a quest

In Family Quests, this is the Health Detective skill. Every quest brings in a grown-up: notice how sleep, food and movement change your energy, learn basic first aid, and the mastery quest, treat a pretend scrape, splinter or minor burn with the first aid kit. Start free.

Next: teach your kid to plan a family activity, or cooking on the stove.

This article is general information for parents, not medical advice. Every child develops at their own pace. If you have questions about your child's health or development, talk with your pediatrician.