Dr Hilary Jones, the TV doctor from ITV's GMTV show said all parents should have the opportunity to learn first aid.

"We know how to feed them, what shopping to get and how to clothe them and keep them warm enough but we don't know what to do in an emergency.

"I know as a parent myself that when you're confronted with your own child after an accident you think what do I do. Even though I have 30 years medical training it's your own child and it makes it harder."

416,000 children under 5 have accidents in the home.

Dr Hilary Jones added: "It's a frightening figure and these are the ones that are just reported to accident and emergency departments. There are a lot of other minor things going on. 100,000 of those are caused by falling or slipping. Eight out of ten parents aren't fitting car seats properly and things like meningitis will occur in 3,000 cases every year, resulting in 300 deaths.

The well known television doctor said parents are often the first people on the scene.

"Stopping bleeding or doing something quickly about choking can make a real difference. Choking in particular - you can't just wait for the ambulance to arrive. If you deprive the brain of oxygen for more than a couple of minutes you don't know what the outcome will be so it's the parent who is there who can save the life," he said.

Dr Hanna Shaw from the UK Royal Life Saving Society said she is not surprised that many parents don't know first aid, including resuscitation.

"You're so terrified about being a parent anyway that to think about resuscitation is bottom of everybody's list. When people think about resuscitating courses they think about resuscitating adults who had heart attacks. Nobody really thinks that babies choke and occasionally babies do stop breathing."

For more information about first aid courses in the UK visit the UK Royal Life Saving Society. Or, contact your local Saint John's Ambulance society. Alternatively, contact your local helth advisor or doctor to discuss a course near you today. You never know, it could save a life.