CPR and Chocking

CPR and Choking Emergencies
There was a 4 year old that came in to the daycare with a Dumdum sucker. While his mom was signing him in, he managed to get the sucker part off of the stick and swallowed it whole. He started choking on it. In the second situation, a 7 year old was drowning in the pool in my apartment complex. He was pulled out quickly but was not breathing. In both situations, you would act immediately and remain calm. In the first situation, first try to scoop out the piece of candy, if you can not scoop it our, then perform the Heimlich maneuver. While you are performing the Heimlich maneuver assign a specific person to call 911. Either you will succeed in dislodging the candy, or you will need to work with 911 to get the child treated. Stay with the child to help arrives and reassure them that they will be ok. Do a full head to toe check to make sure child is ok. (Robertson, 2010)
In the second situation, a specific person would call 911. If there is anyone there that is certified to perform CPR they should do so. If they are not certified, have 911 walk you through it until help arrives. Do not move this child at all, since they were not breathing, they need to be examined by emergency professionals. The parents need to be notified if they are not around. If they are not someone needs to stay with the child and keep them calm until a parent arrives.
Advanced planning is very important in emergency situations. Things happen and being prepared for them can make the process go very smoothly. In all childcare situations, at least one teacher on the premises at any given time, needs to be certified in basic CPR. All teachers should be certified in basic first aid and rescue breathing. All teachers should be able to help a choking child. By knowing how to do these things, the child has a much greater chance of making it through the situation ok. If no one knows how to do any of this, and you have to wait for emergency personnel, it could be too late. They could save them, but the longer someone goes without air, the more problems they will have later. All emergency forms and records need to be easily accessible in an emergency. If a child is having an allergic reaction to something, you need to be able to get their record quickly to see what to do for them. Time is very important in emergencies.
It is also important to have all emergency contact info posted next to each phone. You also want to have any information the operator would ask for posted. You do not want to have to spend time looking for information, that could be used to save someone’s life. There should be a list of who will take over in case the teacher needs to leave the premises with the child. In case of fire, and inclement weather, there should be a preplanned and practiced exit plan. The last thing you want to do in a fire is figure out the quickest way out of the building.
Keep a fully stocked first aid kit readily available at all times. It also needs to be checked frequently in case something is old or has been used so it can be replaced. Also, verify all emergency contact information at least three or four times a year to make sure it stays current. (Robertson, 2010)
The main part of all the preparation is to always remain calm. Even if everything is planned and practiced over and over, if you can not remain calm in the real situation, everything else is for nothing. You could panic and forget very important steps. You could get frantic and not call the right people, which could cause chaos. Most of all, if the children see an adult freaking out, they will too. They read on your emotions and look to you for comfort. You may be going through the most traumatic thing you have ever gone through, but the child can not see that from you. You are the rock that makes everything ok.

Bibliography
Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education. Belmont: Wadsworth.

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