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What to Put in a Baby and Toddler First Aid Kit: The Australian Checklist
A newborn and a toddler need different things from a first aid kit, so this checklist splits them into two age bands. A baby first aid kit in Australia is not a smaller version of the family kit. It is a short set of age-specific additions that sit on top of a properly stocked home kit.
Start with the base. If you have not sorted the household kit yet, work through what to include in your first aid kit and which first aid kit you need for the home first. This guide only covers what a baby or toddler adds on top.
What should be in a baby first aid kit in Australia?
An Australian baby first aid kit adds a few infant-specific items to your home kit: a digital thermometer, saline drops and a nasal aspirator, low-allergen dressing strips, fine-tipped tweezers, infant paracetamol dosed to your baby's weight, and a printed card carrying triple zero (000) and the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
That short list is the core. The rest of this checklist explains what changes between the newborn months and the toddler years, what to deliberately leave out, and the information layer that turns a box of supplies into something you can actually use at 2am.
The 0 to 12 months kit
For a newborn, the additions are small, gentle and mostly about assessment rather than treatment.
- An infant-suitable digital thermometer. Fever in a young baby is not something to manage at home by default. Per healthdirect's fever in children guidance, a baby under three months with a temperature of 38C or higher should be taken to a hospital emergency department. A reliable thermometer is what tells you which situation you are in.
- Saline drops and a nasal aspirator. A blocked nose makes it harder for a young baby to feed. Saline drops loosen congestion safely without medicines, and the Royal Children's Hospital recommends them to clear mucus so your baby can feed more comfortably.
- Low-allergen dressing strips and a couple of non-adherent dressings. Pick strips designed to be gentle on removal.
- Fine-tipped tweezers. For splinters only. Do not use them on ticks: healthdirect and the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) both advise freezing an attached tick with an ether-containing spray rather than pulling it out.
- Infant paracetamol, dosed by weight. Liquid infant paracetamol is dosed to the child's weight, not guessed by age, so keep the current pack with its measuring syringe and check the label strength each time. For a baby under one month, the Royal Children's Hospital advises speaking with a doctor before giving paracetamol. Ibuprofen is generally not given under three months; if you are unsure of a dose, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 before giving anything.
Leave burns creams out of the newborn kit entirely. The Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR Guideline 9.1.3) sets the first response for a heat burn or scald as cool running water for at least 20 minutes, not ice and not a cream or ointment. Chemical burns are handled differently: irrigate thoroughly with water and call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
The same guideline warns to cover the unburnt areas and keep the child warm, because small children lose heat quickly while a burn is being cooled. ANZCOR is also clear that every baby or child with a burn should be seen by a doctor, and that a significant burn needs an ambulance, so call triple zero (000). Our full walk-through of burns and scalds first aid covers why cooling time is the thing that matters most.
The 1 to 3 years kit
Toddlers move, climb, fall and put things in their mouths, so the kit shifts toward the everyday knocks and the aftermath of a bug.
- Plasters a toddler will actually keep on. Fun, well-adhering strips beat a dressing that is peeled off within a minute.
- An instant cold pack. For the bumps and bruises that come with learning to walk and run.
- Oral rehydration solution suitable for toddlers. Gastro and vomiting drain fluids fast at this age. Keep an ORS product on hand and follow the pack instructions; healthdirect is the source to check for when a toddler needs to be seen rather than managed at home.
- Saline or clean water for rinsing grazes, alongside the dressings you already keep for the household. healthdirect's wound guidance says antiseptic creams are not needed.
- An ether-containing tick freezing spray if you live near or visit tick country. healthdirect advises freezing the tick with an ether-containing spray and waiting for it to drop off. Do not squeeze it or pull it out. Check the label for age suitability, and call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 if you are unsure what to do about a tick on a young child.
Everything else in the toddler band is the same wound care you keep for the rest of the family. If you are restocking, our dressings and wound care supplies range covers the low-trauma strips and non-adherent dressings that suit small children.
What to leave out of a baby first aid kit
The exclusions matter as much as the contents.
- No aspirin for children. Aspirin is linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but serious condition affecting the brain and liver, so healthdirect advises it is not given to children for pain or fever. Paracetamol or ibuprofen, dosed correctly, is the standard choice.
- No cough and cold medicines for children under six. The Therapeutic Goods Administration advises against giving over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to children under six. healthdirect is plain about why: these medicines do not help children recover from coughs and colds and may be harmful.
- No adult-strength medicines decanted into the kit. Adult tablets split or crushed for a child are a dosing error waiting to happen. Keep child-specific products in child-specific strengths.
- No expired stock. Saline and infant paracetamol both carry expiry dates. An out-of-date product in a baby kit is worse than a gap, because it feels covered when it is not.
The information that makes the kit work
The most useful thing in a baby first aid kit is not a dressing. It is a printed card that anyone caring for your child can read in a hurry. Put one in the kit and a copy on the fridge.
The card should carry triple zero (000) for emergencies, the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for anything swallowed, healthdirect on 1800 022 222 for advice when you are unsure, your child's ASCIA Action Plan if they have a diagnosed allergy or anaphylaxis risk, and your child's current weight. That last detail is the one people forget, and it is exactly what you need to dose infant paracetamol correctly under pressure. A grandparent, a babysitter or a partner should be able to act off that card without calling you first.
Where to keep it and how to keep it current
Store the kit out of the child's reach but somewhere every carer knows to find it. A high shelf that the babysitter cannot locate is no safer than an open drawer. Keep a mini version in the pram or nappy bag for the everyday grazes and runny noses that happen away from home.
Check expiry dates twice a year and restock after every use. That is stricter than healthdirect's minimum, which is a check after each use or at least once every 12 months. Plasters, wipes and saline are the small everyday items that get used for minor things and are easy to forget to replace, so keep a spare saline in the kit.
Have a look at the home and family first aid kits in Australia guide for how the whole household kit fits together, and see healthdirect's first aid kit guidance for its own list of extra items worth adding when there is a baby in the house.
Build the base, then add for age
Sort the household kit first, then add the age-banded items from this checklist as your child grows. Start from one of our home first aid kits, then call us on 03 5443 2239 or email info@firstaiddistributions.com.au and we will help you put one together for your family. We assemble our kits in Bendigo and check every one before it ships, so you are not the first person to open the box.