Lesson 4 of 6 · 3 min read
Children, infants and when to give breaths
Children and infants need compressions and breaths. A few things change with size, and the 2025 guidelines changed how infant CPR is done.
Video lessons don't replace hands-on training. Practice these skills in a supervised class with a qualified instructor before you rely on them at work.
Who counts as an infant or a child
In the guidelines, an infant is under about 1 year old. A child is about 1 year old until puberty. From puberty on, use the adult steps.
What changes for children and infants
- Breaths matter more. The American Heart Association says that for infants and children, giving breaths along with compressions improves survival, so it encourages breaths if you are able and willing: 30 compressions, then 2 breaths. If you can't give breaths, compressions alone are still better than nothing.
- Depth: at least one third of the depth of the chest: about 2 inches (5 cm) for a child and about 1.5 inches (4 cm) for an infant. Same rate, 100 to 120 a minute, with full recoil and pauses under 10 seconds.
- Children: one or two hands, depending on the size of the child and of you.
- Infants (changed in 2025): the heel of one hand on the center of the chest, or both thumbs with your hands wrapped around the chest. The old two-finger method is no longer recommended.
- AED: use child or infant pads if the AED has them. If you only have adult pads, use them, and make sure the pads don't touch each other (one on the chest and one on the back works on small bodies).
- Calling 911: the dispatcher will coach CPR with breaths for a child or infant.
Other times breaths are recommended
The American Heart Association lists cases where CPR with breaths is better than hands-only, if you are able:
- Drowning: after the person is out of the water, give CPR with breaths, and start breaths before the AED goes on.
- Drug overdose (lesson 6).
- Someone who collapsed because of a breathing problem, a pregnant woman, or a long cardiac arrest.
Breaths are best learned on a manikin in a class. If you aren't trained, do compressions and let the dispatcher guide you.
Key points
- Infant: under about 1. Child: about 1 to puberty. After that, adult steps.
- Children and infants need compressions and breaths: 30 compressions, 2 breaths.
- About 2 inches deep for a child, about 1.5 for an infant, 100 to 120 a minute.
- Infants: heel of one hand or two thumbs. The two-finger method was dropped in 2025.
Picture it
A community pool. A lifeguard pulls a 7-year-old from the water. He isn't responding and isn't breathing.
You call 911 on speaker and the lifeguard starts CPR with breaths right away, because this is drowning and he's a child. When the AED arrives, you use the child pads and keep the two pads from touching.
Resources
- American Heart Association: 2025 Guidelines for CPR and ECC
The current national CPR guidelines this course follows, published October 2025.
- American Red Cross: CPR steps
The Red Cross's step-by-step CPR guide, including rescue breaths for trained rescuers.