--- title: "First aid: press, cover, call" published: "2026-10-15" updated: "2026-10-15" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "30 min" cost: "About $10" ages: "6 and up" where: "A table, a stuffed animal and a first-aid kit." topics: ["classic-skills"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=stop-the-bleeding-first-aid" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/stop-the-bleeding-first-aid/" --- # First aid: press, cover, call > Thirty minutes with a stuffed animal and a first-aid kit. Practice pressing on a cut, covering it, and the words to say to 911, using today's advice, not 1911's. ## What you need - A stuffed animal with a red marker "cut" on an arm or leg (have) - Gauze pads and a roller bandage, or a clean cloth and a strip of fabric (have / $10) - Disposable gloves (optional) (have / $5) - A play phone or an unplugged phone for the 911 practice (have) ## Before you start - **Practice on a stuffed animal,** never on a person's real limb. Don't wrap anything tight on a child. - **In a real emergency call 911 first.** Blood spurting or flowing without stopping, or about half a soda can of blood, needs 911 right away. - **Don't practice a tourniquet.** Tourniquets are for trained people; take a Red Cross or Stop the Bleed class. ## Steps 1. **Look in the kit** (Together) Open the first-aid kit and name each item: gauze pads, roller bandage, tape, gloves. Say what each is for. 2. **Big or small?** (Dad) Say: "Big bleeding means blood that spurts or keeps flowing, or about half a soda can of blood. That's a 911 call." Anything smaller is a minor cut. The kid points to which one the stuffed animal has. 3. **Press on it** (Kid) Put a gauze pad or clean cloth on the red mark and press firmly and steadily with both hands. Count slowly to 60. Don't lift it to peek. 4. **Cover it** (Dad shows, Kid copies) Wrap the roller bandage over the pad, snug but not tight. If "blood" soaks through, put another pad on top and don't take the first one off. Then check that the fingers or toes are warm and the right color. 5. **Call 911** (Together) Practice the call. Say: "I'm at [address]. A person is bleeding a lot. We are pressing on it." Stay on the line and do what the operator says. 6. **Minor cuts** (Together) For a small cut, once the bleeding stops, wash it gently with soap and water for about 5 minutes, then cover it with a bandage. Call the pediatrician if it's longer than half an inch, deep, dirty or gaping. ## If it stalls - If a child gets squeamish, switch to the kit tour and name the items instead. - Do the practice a few times a year. It's a skill that fades. - Put your address on the outside of the kit so a caller reads it out correctly. ## Variations - **Ages 3–5:** Just the kit tour, and bandaging the stuffed animal with a sticky bandage. - **Ages 6–9:** The full plan. - **Ages 10+:** Add a Red Cross or Stop the Bleed class together, and run the practice with a timer. ## Sources - **1911 scouting handbook, pp. 266–268.** The 1911 book says a wound should never be washed and should be covered with a sterile dressing, that firm bandage pressure stops ordinary bleeding, and that for severe bleeding you press on the artery with your fingers and make a tourniquet from a handkerchief and a stick, loosening it after an hour. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Life-threatening bleeding today.** The American Red Cross says bleeding may be life-threatening when the blood equals about half a soda can, or when blood flows continuously or spurts. Call 9-1-1, apply direct pressure to the wound, and use a tourniquet only if trained, for life-threatening bleeding on an arm or leg. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Dressings and checking circulation.** The American Red Cross says that if blood soaks through the original gauze pad you can put another pad on top without removing the first, and that after bandaging you check the skin farthest from the heart for temperature, color and feeling. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Minor cuts at home.** The American Academy of Pediatrics says to press a clean gauze pad or cloth firmly on a cut for 5 to 10 minutes without lifting it to check, then wash it gently with soap and water for about 5 minutes and cover it if it may get dirty. Call the pediatrician for a cut more than half an inch long, deep or gaping. (checked 2026-10-15)