In this guide (8 sections)
What Is the Same for Every Age?
Call 911 and follow the dispatcher. Call for a lifeguard. Reach or throw a flotation aid from a safe position; do not enter dangerous water or attempt an in-water rescue beyond your training. Once safely removed, place the person on a firm, flat surface.
Check responsiveness and breathing
Tap and shout; for an infant, tap the bottom of the foot. Check for normal breathing for no more than 10 seconds. If unresponsive and not breathing normally, including only gasping, begin CPR. Lay rescuers should not delay for a pulse check.
Activate emergency help
Send someone to call 911 and get an AED. If alone with a mobile phone, call on speaker and start care while following the dispatcher. If alone with a child or infant and you must leave to reach a phone, give about 2 minutes of CPR before leaving to call.
Include rescue breaths after drowning
Breaths are especially important after drowning. The Red Cross drowning sequence starts with 2 rescue breaths, then cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths for a single rescuer. AHA guidance allows trained rescuers to begin with breaths or compressions; do not delay CPR to debate the sequence. If unable or unwilling to give breaths, start chest compressions and follow the dispatcher.
Give age-appropriate compressions
Compress at 100–120 per minute on the lower half of the breastbone, allowing full recoil and minimizing pauses. For a child from age 1 until puberty, use one or two hands; press at least one third of the chest depth, about 2 inches (5 cm). For an infant under 1 year, use the heel of one hand or two thumbs with hands encircling the chest; press at least one third of its depth, about 1.5 inches (4 cm). The 2025 AHA guidance no longer recommends two-finger infant compressions.
Give breaths and use an AED
For each breath, open the airway with a head tilt and chin lift. Seal over a child’s mouth while pinching the nose; cover an infant’s mouth and nose. Give each breath over about 1 second, only enough for visible chest rise. Continue 30 compressions and 2 breaths. Begin CPR with breaths before applying an AED after drowning. As soon as available, expose and dry the chest, attach pads and follow its prompts; use pediatric pads/attenuation if available. Do not delay CPR to find an AED. Nobody should touch the person during analysis or shock.
Continue and reassess
Continue until normal breathing or other clear signs of life return, trained help takes over, you are too exhausted to continue, or the scene becomes unsafe. Pause when the AED instructs, then promptly resume. If breathing normally but still unresponsive, maintain an open airway and follow the dispatcher; use a side-lying recovery position if appropriate and no suspected spine injury prevents it. Watch breathing continuously and restart CPR if normal breathing stops.
Full child and infant CPR reference and training information.
What Changes Between Kids and Adults?
Compress at 100–120 per minute on the lower half of the breastbone, allowing full recoil and minimizing pauses. For a child from age 1 until puberty, use one or two hands; press at least one third of the chest depth, about 2 inches (5 cm). For an infant under 1 year, use the heel of one hand or two thumbs with hands encircling the chest; press at least one third of its depth, about 1.5 inches (4 cm). The 2025 AHA guidance no longer recommends two-finger infant compressions.
From puberty onward, use adult CPR: two hands, at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep while avoiding more than 2.4 inches (6 cm). Give breaths sufficient for visible chest rise. Do not apply adult depth or force indiscriminately to an infant or child.
Why Is Drowning CPR Different from Regular CPR?
Breaths are especially important after drowning. The Red Cross drowning sequence starts with 2 rescue breaths, then cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths for a single rescuer. AHA guidance allows trained rescuers to begin with breaths or compressions; do not delay CPR to debate the sequence. If unable or unwilling to give breaths, start chest compressions and follow the dispatcher.
What Does a Real Poolside Scene Look Like?
Make the scene safe, call 911, assess response and normal breathing, and begin CPR when indicated. Follow the dispatcher and AED prompts. Do not wait for equipment or a pulse check before starting care.
What Happens After They Start Breathing?
Call 911 for severe or labored breathing, blue or gray color, unresponsiveness, confusion with breathing distress, or a child who is difficult to wake. If unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR and follow the dispatcher. Anyone who needed CPR or rescue breaths after drowning needs emergency medical care.
Continue until normal breathing or other clear signs of life return, trained help takes over, you are too exhausted to continue, or the scene becomes unsafe. Pause when the AED instructs, then promptly resume. If breathing normally but still unresponsive, maintain an open airway and follow the dispatcher; use a side-lying recovery position if appropriate and no suspected spine injury prevents it. Watch breathing continuously and restart CPR if normal breathing stops.
Where Should You Actually Learn This?
Reading an article is not the same as training. What reading gives you is the shape of the thing — enough to recognise what is happening and not freeze. What a class gives you is muscle memory in your hands, and the experience of finding out that proper compression depth takes more force than you expect.
The two national providers are the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. Both offer courses that include child and infant CPR alongside adult, which is what a parent wants; an adult-only workplace course will leave out exactly the part you need. Expect two to four hours and a certification good for two years. Many YMCAs, hospitals, fire departments and parks departments run them at low or no cost.
We have written a full guide to finding and choosing a CPR class for kids — what the certification levels mean, what online-only courses do and do not qualify you for, and how to tell whether a class actually includes infant manikins.
One more thing worth saying plainly: CPR is the backup plan, not the plan. It is what you reach for after every layer of prevention has already failed. Fencing, supervision, life jackets and swim lessons are what keep you from ever needing this page. Our five layers of protection explains how they stack — and if the swim-lesson layer is the one you are missing, our free directory of swim programs covers all fifty states.
Looking for low-cost classes? See where to find free CPR for kids training and which course names cover infants and children.
Authoritative Sources
AHA 2025 Adult Basic Life Support: adult compression technique and depth.
Emergency guidance updated October 15, 2026: AHA/AAP 2025 pediatric CPR, AHA drowning resuscitation, Red Cross drowning sequence, and Red Cross drowning myths.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Drowning Facts
- American Red Cross — CPR Training and Certification
- American Heart Association — CPR & ECC Guidelines
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Water Safety and Young Children
- National Drowning Prevention Alliance
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CPR the same for kids and adults?
Compress at 100–120 per minute on the lower half of the breastbone, allowing full recoil and minimizing pauses. For a child from age 1 until puberty, use one or two hands; press at least one third of the chest depth, about 2 inches (5 cm). For an infant under 1 year, use the heel of one hand or two thumbs with hands encircling the chest; press at least one third of its depth, about 1.5 inches (4 cm). The 2025 AHA guidance no longer recommends two-finger infant compressions.
At what age do you switch from child CPR to adult CPR?
AHA pediatric guidance uses age 1 until puberty for child CPR, and under age 1 for infant CPR. Use adult CPR from signs of puberty onward. Take hands-on training and follow the dispatcher if unsure in an emergency.
Do you start CPR with breaths or compressions?
Breaths are especially important after drowning. The Red Cross drowning sequence starts with 2 rescue breaths, then cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths for a single rescuer. AHA guidance allows trained rescuers to begin with breaths or compressions; do not delay CPR to debate the sequence. If unable or unwilling to give breaths, start chest compressions and follow the dispatcher.
How many compressions per minute for a child versus an adult?
The same: 100 to 120 compressions per minute, for infants, children and adults alike. This is one of the few CPR numbers that does not change with age. A useful pacing cue is any song around 110 beats per minute; most CPR instructors teach at least one.
Can you hurt a child by doing CPR wrong?
CPR can cause injury, but delaying CPR when a person is unresponsive and not breathing normally is dangerous. Call 911, start care and follow the dispatcher. Hands-on training helps you use appropriate technique, depth and rate.
