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10 min Protecting Young Kids

Febrile Seizures

In 10 minutes you'll know what to do during a febrile seizure, and exactly when it means calling 911.

Print this course — or save it as a PDF from the print dialog. Good for a fridge, a glovebox, or a waiting room.

Why this matters

Watching your child seize is one of the most frightening things a parent can experience. The reassuring truth, taught consistently in pediatric guidance, is that febrile seizures are usually brief and do not cause brain damage or affect development. What you do in the first minute — and knowing exactly when to call 911 — is the part within your control.

Know the signs

What a febrile seizure actually is

A febrile seizure is a seizure triggered by a fever, most common between 6 months and 5 years old. The body's temperature rises quickly, and in some young children that rapid rise can trigger the brain to seizure — arms and legs jerking, eyes rolling back, unresponsive to your voice.

It is one of the most frightening things a parent can witness, and it is, in the vast majority of cases, brief and not dangerous. A febrile seizure does not cause brain damage, and most children outgrow the tendency entirely by school age.

What to do while a seizure is happening

A few clear actions matter most in the moment:

  • Ease them onto their side on a flat, safe surface.
  • Clear the area of anything hard or sharp nearby.
  • Put nothing in their mouth — not a spoon, not your fingers, nothing.
  • Time it from the moment it starts, using your phone.
  • Don't restrain them. You can't stop the jerking, and holding them down can cause injury.

Stay close and stay calm. Talking to them softly doesn't stop the seizure, but it helps you stay steady until it passes.

When to call 911

Most febrile seizures end within a minute or two on their own. Call 911 if this is your child's first-ever seizure, if it lasts longer than 5 minutes, if breathing looks like trouble, if it happens again shortly after the first one, if your child doesn't return to normal afterward, or if their lips or face look blue.

Any one of these is enough on its own. You don't need all of them to make the call.

What happens after it stops

When the seizure ends, your child will likely be sleepy, confused, or irritable for a while — that's normal. Turn them fully onto their side if they aren't already, stay with them, and speak calmly as they come back around.

After any first febrile seizure, get your child evaluated by a doctor the same day, even once it's over and they seem fine. The point isn't the seizure itself — it's making sure nothing more serious is causing the fever.

Fever medicine will not prevent this

It's natural to wonder if you could have stopped it by treating the fever sooner or more aggressively. You couldn't have. Fever-reducing medicine does not reliably prevent febrile seizures, and how high or low the fever runs doesn't predict whether one happens.

This is not something a parent causes or could have caught in advance. Most children who have one febrile seizure go on to have completely normal development, and the large majority outgrow them by the time they start school.

How it really looks

Dmitri's daughter seizes at 2am

Dmitri wakes to a sound he's never heard before: his 18-month-old's breathing gone strange, her body jerking in the crib. Fever had put her to bed warm, but nothing prepared him for this. His first instinct is to scoop her up and shake her gently, calling her name. Instead he lays her on her side on the floor, clears the blanket away, and starts the timer on his phone rather than his panic. It stops at ninety seconds. She's groggy and confused but breathing normally, and it's her first seizure ever, so he calls 911 anyway. The ER checks her over, finds an ear infection behind the fever, and sends them home that night with nothing more serious to treat.

Kwame handles a seizure at daycare

Kwame is refilling snack cups when a boy in his toddler room suddenly stiffens and starts jerking on the mat. Kwame has run this scenario in his head during training but never lived it. He eases the boy onto his side, moves a nearby chair out of the way, and starts timing on the classroom clock instead of guessing. It lasts just under two minutes. He calls 911 as a matter of policy for any child seizure at daycare, and calls the boy's mother in the same breath. By the time she arrives, her son is drowsy but talking, and the paramedics confirm what Kwame already suspected: a fever had spiked fast, and this was a febrile seizure.

What to do until help arrives

  1. Ease them onto their side on a flat, safe surface and clear away anything hard or sharp nearby.
  2. Put nothing in their mouth — no spoon, no fingers, nothing.
  3. Time the seizure from the moment it starts, using your phone.
  4. Don't hold them down or try to stop the jerking.
  5. Call 911 if it's their first-ever seizure, lasts over 5 minutes, breathing looks like trouble, it repeats, or they don't return to normal.
  6. Stay with them and speak calmly as they come back around — confusion and sleepiness afterward are normal.
  7. Get any first febrile seizure evaluated by a doctor the same day, even after it's over.

Myths & mistakes

People often think a febrile seizure means brain damage or a serious neurological problem.Actually febrile seizures do not cause brain damage, and most children who have one develop completely normally and outgrow the tendency by school age.

People often think giving fever medicine right away will prevent a febrile seizure.Actually fever-reducing medicine does not reliably prevent febrile seizures. How fast the fever rises matters more than how high it gets, and neither is something a parent controls.

People often think you should hold a seizing child still or put something in their mouth to protect their tongue.Actually holding them down can cause injury, and children cannot swallow their tongue. Ease them onto their side, clear the area, and put nothing in their mouth.

What you learned

  • A febrile seizure is triggered by fever, most common between 6 months and 5 years old, and is usually brief.
  • During a seizure: side position, clear the area, nothing in the mouth, and time it.
  • Call 911 if it's the first ever, lasts over 5 minutes, involves breathing trouble, repeats, or your child doesn't return to normal.
  • After any first febrile seizure, get same-day medical evaluation, even once your child seems fine.
  • Fever medicine doesn't reliably prevent these seizures — it isn't something you could have stopped.

Sources

  1. American Academy of Pediatrics — Febrile seizure guidance for parents (HealthyChildren.org)
  2. Epilepsy Foundation — Febrile seizures and childhood seizure information

Common questions

Could I have prevented this by treating her fever sooner?

No. Fever-reducing medicine does not reliably prevent febrile seizures, and there's nothing you could have done differently. What matters when a fever rises quickly in a young child is being ready to respond safely, not preventing the fever itself.

Does a febrile seizure mean my child has epilepsy?

Not usually. A febrile seizure is triggered specifically by a fever and is different from epilepsy, which involves seizures without fever. Most children who have a febrile seizure never go on to develop epilepsy and outgrow the tendency by school age.

This was her first seizure and it only lasted a minute. Do we still need to call 911?

Yes. First-ever febrile seizures are always a 911 call, even if it has already stopped and looks minor, because at that point you don't yet know it's a simple febrile seizure. Paramedics and an ER visit confirm what happened and check for what's driving the fever.

Check what you know

Five questions. Four correct to pass. Retake as many times as you like — this is practice, not a test.

This course belongs to Protecting Young Kids. Courses that pair well with it:

Fever: When It's an Emergency In 12 minutes you'll know the one fever rule that has no exceptions, and when the number matters less than how your child looks. 12 min Protecting Young Kids Seizures: What Helps, What Hurts In 10 minutes you'll know exactly what to do during a seizure, and when it means calling 911. 10 min Everyday Emergencies Meningitis: Hours Matter In 10 minutes you'll know the four signs that mean the emergency room now, and why you should never wait for a rash to appear. 10 min Protecting Young Kids