On the last day of the Christmas holidays, Doug Taylor, from Lewes in East Sussex, took his two children, Mia, 10, and Tom, eight, on their favourite walk to try out the camping kettle Doug had been given for Christmas. They walked for about 40 minutes before they stopped for tea. It was about 3.45pm and they couldn't hang around too long if they were to make it back to the car with some light.

As the kettle seemed to be taking too long, "really stupidly", says Taylor, "I put the cork in." When the water finally boiled, the kettle exploded, splattering scalding water. "Tom started screaming," says Taylor. "I looked at his face and saw it was OK, but then looked down at his hand. The skin was hanging off. I knew we needed cold water, but we didn't have any, the car was a good 40-minute walk away and it was getting dark. I called an ambulance but struggled to pinpoint exactly where we were. I had the most awful sense of rising panic and felt utterly impotent."

At that moment, out of the gloaming, a woman with two children appeared. She did have cold water and knew exactly what to do as her son had suffered a burn in similar circumstances a couple of years ago. "She produced an empty plastic bag from her pocket, the sort you put vegetables in at the supermarket, and wrapped it round Tom's arm. We then soaked my T-shirt in water and wrapped that round it too. Her car was parked nearby and so she drove us to my car and then I followed her to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, which specialises in burns."

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa), every year about two million children have accidents - 37,000 children under 15 are taken to hospital for burns or scalds alone - but a survey by St John Ambulance last year found that most people would feel helpless if confronted with a medical emergency and seven out of 10 adults would not know what to do if faced with the sight of a child lying face down in water.

"We polled 2,000 adults and their answers ranged from doing nothing and feeling helpless to not checking if the casualty was breathing before starting CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation] - which could prove fatal," says Andrew New, senior training officer for St John Ambulance. "Given the number of first-aid emergencies that could be resolved relatively easily, it is worrying how few parents say they don't know what to do. Even doing something simple, such as having the confidence to give reassurance, can make a huge difference to the outcome."

"Without a doubt, parents don't know enough," says Clive James, a senior training officer and volunteer with St John Ambulance. "Just take the recovery position, for example. Putting somebody in the right position can save their life. Or choking. If you know exactly what to do, you can help."

There are all sorts of first-aid courses in the UK, ranging from a basic three hours to several days, but many people are reluctant to go on one. "Mostly it's because people think they won't need it, that it won't happen to them," says James, "or they're not sure what the course might involve. But 99.9% of first aid is common sense."

Joe Mulligan, head of first aid with the Red Cross, believes some parents are reluctant to learn because they don't want to confront the idea that they may need to use it on their own children. "We get a lot of people signing up for a course after the event. They've normally had a scare of some sort. What happens in the first five minutes after an accident is critical and can be not only life-saving, but in cases of burns and scalds, quick and appropriate treatment can have a huge effect on the cosmetic result."

In May last year, when her daughter was three months old, Harriet Armstrong organised an afternoon first-aid session in Walthamstow through the Red Cross for herself and a group of other new mums. "Seventeen turned up. It was great, all very practical and hands-on. We did quite a bit on choking as we thought with small children this was important."

Last month, Harriet and her daughter, Asha, now one, went to a first birthday party. '"I was watching Asha as she was eating a gingerbread man. She started screaming and went purple and I realised she was choking. It all happened very quickly but I remembered exactly what to do. I lay her face down on my forearm and slapped her on the back five times. The piece of gingerbread shot out of her mouth and then she was absolutely fine."

Instant response: what you need to know

Burns
The first thing to do is cool the affected area. If possible, hold it under cold water for at least 10 minutes. Then cover with clean, non-fluffy material such as a cloth, plastic bag or clingfilm. If it's deep or larger than the palm of the casualty's hand, also seek urgent medical attention.
Do not Use lotions, creams or adhesive dressings or break blisters.

Lumps, bumps and bruises
Apply a cold compress to bumped areas for no more than 10 minutes, to relieve the swelling. When people go into shock they go cold. Hold their hand to warm and reassure them. If you are worried they might be concussed, the rule is that if the child gets knocked out, even for a short time, or acts strangely, they should see a doctor.

Nosebleeds
These usually happen because a tiny blood vessel inside the nose has become damaged. Aim to control the blood loss. Sit the child down, tilt their head forwards and allow the blood to drain from the nose. Then get them to pinch their nose and dribble into a bowl. Discourage them from coughing, swallowing or swilling. After a few minutes, release the pressure on the nose. If still bleeding, keep pinching for another 10 minutes.

Strains and sprains
Strains are pulled muscles and sprains are stretched ligaments. Remember "Rice". R is for rest: get the child to sit down. I is for ice to reduce pain and bruising, but don't apply it directly on to the skin - wrap it in kitchen roll or a tea towel. Frozen peas are good because you can roll them around the injury. C is for compress: apply a bandage firmly to the injury. E is for elevation: keep the injured area as high as possible, to slow blood flow to the injury, so reducing swelling and long-term bruising.

Febrile convulsion
Make sure the child is not too hot and keep them in the recovery position (on their side, mouth facing downwards for easy draining, chin up to keep airways open). The convulsion may be caused by their temperature getting too high but it could be asthma or epilepsy. If in doubt, call an ambulance.
Do not Wrap the child in too many layers if they have a high temperature.
Anita Sethi & Sheridan McCoid

· NHS Direct: 0845 4647, nhsdirect.nhs.uk. For advice and courses: sja.org.uk; redcross.org.uk