Raising Good Kids in Tough Times:

Will Someone Save Jeffrey?

Dr. Roger McIntire

Jeff's Mom asked, "Jeffrey, what's wrong? Can you cough?" Jeffrey only struggled.

"Say something." Jeffrey eyes started tearing but he said nothing. He was choking and could not speak or breathe at all.

In 2001, the Office of Communication estimated that over 17,000 children under 15 were treated for emergencies for choking on toys and food. More than one in every 100 died.

Nearly 80 percent of the children who die each year from airway obstruction are under five years old. Jeffrey is in danger of dying from the most common cause of all accidental deaths among young children - choking on food.

Would you know what to do for Jeffrey? If you called 911, how soon would help arrive? What could you do to save Jeffrey while they made their way to your house?

Should you tip his head back or forward? Should he lie down? Should you give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or should you try the Heimlich maneuver? Exactly how do you do these procedures anyway? If Jeffrey can talk a little should you still slap him on the back or would that only cause more choking?

There's no time to learn during an emergency. If you are up to date and practiced in these skills you are among the very few. Less than 5 percent will ever take the time to learn the emergency procedures for heart and breathing difficulties. But for those who do, they could raise the survival rate of the victims by as much as 40 percent when CPR (Cardiopulminary Resuscitation) is applied correctly.

The American Heart Association's new course, CPR for Family and Friends, is offered at most local hospitals. The course not only explains what to do but gives you practice in how to do it.

For both adults and children, we need to learn how to recognize choking symptoms and what to do in case of choking, drowning, accidents, stroke, heart attack and cardiac arrest.

For children, who very seldom have heart problems, parents and grandparents need to know the different signs of choking and what needs to be done to help at different stages of the problem. Life-saving procedures for infants and children are not the same as the usual methods for adults. And procedures also vary for accident victims where the person could have other injuries.

The course requires only one evening of about three hours. You could save a life when that most frightening moment for parents comes when their child can't breathe.

Summertime is particularly dangerous. Children need extra supervision because home swimming pools are filled, bikes are out and kids are especially active outdoors.

We all have to do our best to prevent these problems. But if an emergency comes, be informed and ready to help.

Dr. McIntire is the author of Teenagers and Parents: 10 Steps to a Better Relationship and Raising Good Kids in Tough Times. For more information see Parentsuccess.com. For publications, visit the CCBS bookstore.

Dr. Roger McIntire taught child psychology and family counseling at the University of Maryland for 32 years, where he conducted research and did applied work with parents and teachers. He has published several books, for both professionals and parents, appears often on radio and television talk shows, and writes a weekly column, Raising Good Kids in Tough Times, for the Martinsburg (WV) Journal. He received the 2001 Award for Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media, from the Association for Behavior Analysis. He is a father and grandfather. You can find out more about his publications at parentsuccess.com.

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