It can be a parent’s worst nightmare.  You turn your back for just a moment, leaving your child out of your sight while you’re taking care of something in another room or any number of things parents must do in their daily lives.

It’s in that moment that the unthinkable happens. Your child finds something small within their reach and they put it in their mouth out of curiosity. Within seconds, the object is lodged in their throat and they begin to choke.

Needless to say, you panic. If you don’t know how to handle the situation, if you haven’t taken the time to learn how to stop your child from choking, then that panic turns into a complete terror.

Saving your child from choking is something only few parents know how to do.

This video very cleverly uses the perspective of those small toys children like to put in their mouths to teach parents what to do in an event their child is choking.  Created by St. John Ambulance and first posted to their YouTube channel back in January, this video is now being passed around to all parents everywhere.

According to St. John Ambulance, 40% of parents have seen their child choking on something.  Of those parents, over 80% did not know what to do to help their child.

A pen lid, a marble, a gummy candy, and a plastic princess teach parents how to handle a choking emergency and save their child.  They explain the following steps in a way that all parents can understand.

First, the video advises parents to lay their child on their stomach across the parents legs and rapidly smack their back five times in quick succession.  If that does not work, then they advise to turn the child over onto their back and press their sternum five times.  Parents are to repeat these actions until the object is ejected from the throat. It’s really that simple.

All parents need to do is commit this response to memory.  Using this technique during a choking incident could save a child’s life. 

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