Expert Tips for a Safe Spring Break: Aim for Safety
“As you finalize your plans, remember that safety never takes a vacation,”
As Spring Break approaches, Cook Children’s Health Care System is launching a safety series to provide caregivers with essential advice on road trips, poison prevention, and water safety. As pediatric health care experts, the Cook Children's team knows that protecting a child's health is about more than treating illness it’s about preventing emergency room visits due to avoidable injuries.
“As you finalize your plans, remember that safety never takes a vacation,” said Harley Roden, LCDC, program coordinator for injury prevention at the Center for Community Health.
According to the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment of households with guns in Cook Children’s eight-county service area, approximately one in five children live in a home with guns that are not always safely locked away. In 2025, Cook Children's saw 68 unintentional gun-related injuries, one of which was fatal. Cook Children’s Aim For Safety program focuses on education and outreach about gun safety to decrease the number of youth injured or killed by a gun.
“Taking a moment now to ensure all guns are securely stored both at home and while traveling prevents a much-needed break from turning into an unplanned trip to the emergency room,” said Roden.
The Aim for Safety program takes a pro-safety approach, staying away from politics and focusing on preventing unintentional injury. In 2025, the program distributed 488 gun safes and 3,523 cable locks to the community. Families can find cable locks at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth and Prosper emergency departments. To learn more, visit aimforsafety.org or contact injury.prevention@cookchildrens.org with any questions.
Roden recommends talking to kids about guns and safety. Aim For Safety can provide families with resources like graphic novels and other materials to help with the conversation.
The program shares these safety tips:
Safe Storage
- Store guns unloaded in locked locations and out of reach of children.
- Use cable locks and gun boxes.
- Secure ammunition separately.
If You See a Gun
- Stop.
- Don't touch it.
- Run away.
- Tell a trusted adult.
Safe Play
- Ask the parents of your child's friends if they have guns in their homes and how they are being stored.
- If you are asked about your guns, don't be offended.
- Never aim BB guns or pellet guns at another person.
Aim for Safety in the Community:
LVT Rise: Saturday, March 28 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Carrollton: Saturday, May 2 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lives Impacted by Gun-Related Injuries and Prevention Efforts at Cook Children's
- In FY 2025, Cook Children’s Medical Center-Fort Worth treated 68 gun-related injuries and one fatality.
- In FY 2024, Cook Children’s Medical Center-Fort Worth treated 62 gun-related injuries.
- Most non-fatal injuries were caused by air-powered guns (BB guns, airsoft guns, paintball guns, etc.), while most severe or fatal injuries were caused by handguns.
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AIM For Safety
Gun awareness and gun safety are a passion for Dr. Guzman. He is the medical director of the Aim for Safety program at Cook Children's, which promotes firearm safety for children. The program is a multi-step interactive experience that provides parental awareness and teaches children the steps they should take when they encounter a firearm.
