Tutorials References Menu

JS Reference

JS by Category JS by Alphabet

JavaScript

JS Array JS Boolean JS Classes JS Date JS Error JS Global JS JSON JS Math JS Number JS Operators JS RegExp JS Statements JS String

HTML DOM

DOM Attributes DOM Document DOM Element DOM Events DOM Event Objects DOM HTMLCollection DOM Location DOM Navigator DOM Screen DOM Style
alignContent alignItems alignSelf animation animationDelay animationDirection animationDuration animationFillMode animationIterationCount animationName animationTimingFunction animationPlayState background backgroundAttachment backgroundColor backgroundImage backgroundPosition backgroundRepeat backgroundClip backgroundOrigin backgroundSize backfaceVisibility border borderBottom borderBottomColor borderBottomLeftRadius borderBottomRightRadius borderBottomStyle borderBottomWidth borderCollapse borderColor borderImage borderImageOutset borderImageRepeat borderImageSlice borderImageSource borderImageWidth borderLeft borderLeftColor borderLeftStyle borderLeftWidth borderRadius borderRight borderRightColor borderRightStyle borderRightWidth borderSpacing borderStyle borderTop borderTopColor borderTopLeftRadius borderTopRightRadius borderTopStyle borderTopWidth borderWidth bottom boxShadow boxSizing captionSide caretColor clear clip color columnCount columnFill columnGap columnRule columnRuleColor columnRuleStyle columnRuleWidth columns columnSpan columnWidth counterIncrement counterReset cursor direction display emptyCells filter flex flexBasis flexDirection flexFlow flexGrow flexShrink flexWrap cssFloat font fontFamily fontSize fontStyle fontVariant fontWeight fontSizeAdjust height isolation justifyContent left letterSpacing lineHeight listStyle listStyleImage listStylePosition listStyleType margin marginBottom marginLeft marginRight marginTop maxHeight maxWidth minHeight minWidth objectFit objectPosition opacity order orphans outline outlineColor outlineOffset outlineStyle outlineWidth overflow overflowX overflowY padding paddingBottom paddingLeft paddingRight paddingTop pageBreakAfter pageBreakBefore pageBreakInside perspective perspectiveOrigin position quotes resize right scrollBehavior tableLayout tabSize textAlign textAlignLast textDecoration textDecorationColor textDecorationLine textDecorationStyle textIndent textOverflow textShadow textTransform top transform transformOrigin transformStyle transition transitionProperty transitionDuration transitionTimingFunction transitionDelay unicodeBidi userSelect verticalAlign visibility width wordBreak wordSpacing wordWrap widows zIndex
DOM Window

Web APIs

API Console API Geolocation API History API Storage

HTML Objects

<a> <abbr> <address> <area> <article> <aside> <audio> <b> <base> <bdo> <blockquote> <body> <br> <button> <canvas> <caption> <cite> <code> <col> <colgroup> <datalist> <dd> <del> <details> <dfn> <dialog> <div> <dl> <dt> <em> <embed> <fieldset> <figcaption> <figure> <footer> <form> <head> <header> <h1> - <h6> <hr> <html> <i> <iframe> <img> <ins> <input> button <input> checkbox <input> color <input> date <input> datetime <input> datetime-local <input> email <input> file <input> hidden <input> image <input> month <input> number <input> password <input> radio <input> range <input> reset <input> search <input> submit <input> text <input> time <input> url <input> week <kbd> <label> <legend> <li> <link> <map> <mark> <menu> <menuitem> <meta> <meter> <nav> <object> <ol> <optgroup> <option> <output> <p> <param> <pre> <progress> <q> <s> <samp> <script> <section> <select> <small> <source> <span> <strong> <style> <sub> <summary> <sup> <table> <tbody> <td> <tfoot> <th> <thead> <tr> <textarea> <time> <title> <track> <u> <ul> <var> <video>

Other References

CSSStyleDeclaration JS Conversion


HTML DOM firstChild Property

Element Object

Example

Get the HTML content of the first child node of an <ul> element:

var x = document.getElementById("myList").firstChild.innerHTML;
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The firstChild property returns the first child node of the specified node, as a Node object.

The difference between this property and firstElementChild, is that firstChild returns the first child node as an element node, a text node or a comment node (depending on which one's first), while firstElementChild returns the first child node as an element node (ignores text and comment nodes).

Note: Whitespace inside elements is considered as text, and text is considered as nodes (See "More Examples").

This property is read-only.

Tip: Use the element.childNodes property to return any child node of a specified node. childNodes[0] will produce the same result as firstChild.

Tip: To return the last child node of a specified node, use the lastChild property.


Browser Support

Property
firstChild Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Syntax

node.firstChild


Technical Details

Return Value: A Node object, representing the first child of a node, or null if there are no child nodes
DOM Version Core Level 1 Node Object

More Examples

Example

In this example, we demonstrate how whitespace may interfere with this property.

Get the node name of the first child node of a <div> element:

<!--
Whitespace inside elements is considered as text, and text is considered as nodes
In this example, there is whitespace before <p>, before <span> and after <span>
Therefore, the first child node of <div> is a #text node, and not the <p> element you expected
-->

<div id="myDIV">
  <p>Looks like first child</p>
  <span>Looks like last Child</span>
</div>

<script>
var x = document.getElementById("myDIV").firstChild.nodeName;
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = x;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

Example

However, if we remove the whitespace from the source, there are no #text nodes in <div>, which will make the <p> element the first child node:

<div id="myDIV"><p>First child</p><span>Last Child</span></div>

<script>
var x = document.getElementById("myDIV").firstChild.nodeName;
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = x;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

Example

Get the text of the first child node of a <select> element:

var x = document.getElementById("mySelect").firstChild.text;
Try it Yourself »

Related Pages

HTML DOM reference: node.lastChild Property

HTML DOM reference: node.childNodes Property

HTML DOM reference: node.parentNode Property

HTML DOM reference: node.nextSibling Property

HTML DOM reference: node.previousSibling Property

HTML DOM reference: node.nodeName Property


Element Object