Canton Fire Department explains what parents, caregivers should know when children or infants need CPR

‘We offer community baby showers, and within that, we teach the community CPR because you’re never going to know when you’ll need it,’

CANTON, Mich. – The Canton Fire Department took the time to help people learn how to do hands-only CPR. But if you have a smaller child at home, there are differences in the technique that you need to know.

Karlitia Johnson is teaching her coworkers at Brilliant Detroit how to do infant CPR.

“You want to do 30 compressions for two breaths,” said Johnson.

They will teach life-saving lessons to parents in Detroit.

“We offer community baby showers, and within that, we teach the community CPR because you’re never going to know when you’ll need it,” Johnson said.

“I actually had to save my daughter when she was young after she was choking on something,” a man said. “I think it was some candy.”

Read: CPR training resource guide: Why it’s important, how it works, how to get trained

Brilliant Detroit focuses on families’ needs, which is an important skill it knows it can pass on to parents.

“It is something you have to practice over and over or watch videos about it so you can become familiar and you know what to do in an emergency,” Johnson said.

Performing CPR on an infant or child is different than an adult, as experts say it’s easy to learn, and they suggest parents should not be intimidated.

“You have confidence that you can keep your child safe, and you know what to do,” said Cindy Eggleton, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brilliant Detroit.


About the Authors:

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service.