You are here:

Unresponsive and breathing child

What to look for - unresponsive and breathing child

If your child is not responding to you and you think they are unresponsive, ask loudly: ‘What has happened?’ or ‘Open your eyes’. Place one hand on their shoulder and tap gently. If they still do not respond, it’s likely they’re unresponsive.

What you need to do - unresponsive and breathing child

If you think your child is unresponsive, check to see if they are still breathing normally. If they are unresponsive and breathing, here's what you need to do:

Step 1 - Open their airway

Place one hand on the child’s forehead and gently tilt their head back. As you do this, their mouth will fall open slightly.

Place the fingertips of your other hand on the point of their chin and lift it.

Step 2 - Check to ensure they are breathing normally


If they are breathing normally, put them into the recovery position to keep their airway open.

Step 3 - First, kneel down next to them on the floor

The next three steps are for if you find the child lying on their back. If you find them lying on their side or their front you may not need all three.

  1. 1. Place their arm nearest you at a right angle to their body, with the palm facing upwards.
  3. 3. Now roll the child onto their side. Carefully pull on their bent knee and roll them towards you. Once you’ve done this, the top arm should be supporting their head and the bent leg should be on the floor to stop them from rolling over too far.

Next, check that their airway is open, so they can breathe, and any fluid in their mouth can drain away. To do this, tilt their head back, gently tilt their chin forward and make sure that their airway will stay open and clear.

But, if you think your child could have a spinal injury, you must try and keep their neck as still as possible. Instead of tilting their neck, use the jaw thrust technique:


Once you’ve put them safely into the recovery position, call 999 or 112 for emergency help.

Remember that until help arrives you must keep checking that they’re still breathing normally.

If they stop breathing normally at any point, call 999 or 112 straight away and get ready to give them chest compressions and rescue breaths – CPR.

Baby first aid course


Baby first aid course