“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.  

Related Stories:   

• Expert Tips for a Safe Spring Break: Water Safety
• Experts Urge Safe Gun Storage as School's Out
• The Ultimate Holiday Safety Checklist 

The mobile kiosk, which stands more than 7-feet high and resembles a giant smartphone, rolled out in December at Defender Outdoors, a sports shooting and outdoors equipment retailer in Fort Worth. As part of a first-time collaboration with Cook Children’s, the kiosk was placed near the check-out registers in hopes it attracts the attention of parents and children alike.

“I think this could be a real breakthrough in how we educate our families,” says Dan Guzman, M.D., an emergency room physician who initiated Aim for Safety in 2017 after seeing too many children treated for accidental gun-related injuries at Cook Children’s Medical Center. “It’s a way that’s not in your face — where people may feel more comfortable as opposed to somebody coming up and directly speaking to them about safety (versus standard) practices."

The Aim for Safety educational kiosk — activated by touch — uses advanced technology to engage and teach children as they progress through four levels, stumbling upon unsecured guns hidden in places such as cabinets and drawers while moving through a virtual home. If they find a gun, they must correctly answer questions on how to safely handle the situation in order to progress through the program. Other gun safety-related questions are asked as objects in the rooms are found and touched.

Cook Children’s Aim for Safety program maintains a non-political approach, strictly focusing on educating families about ways to keep everyone safe when guns are in a home, Dr. Guzman says. The program emphasizes three steps: Safe Storage. Safe Children. Safe Play.

Using the kiosk’s touch-screen video program, participants interact and “learn something at the same time,” Dr. Guzman says, adding it’s less intimidating and “there’s no one there to judge you” on whether participants are familiar with standard gun-safety practices in their own homes.

“I think people are free and more open to change, and they’ll listen to the message and learn more about it before they actually make a decision,” Dr. Guzman says. “That’s the approach we want to have… and still deliver a high-quality educational piece that drives home the safety aspects of what we want to do with Aim for Safety.”

Edwina Parker, director of training at Defender Outdoors, says the retailer was “thrilled to be chosen to participate” in Cook Children’s educational kiosk rollout. The company makes gun safety “an integral part of our business, from the sales floor to the range check-in and throughout our training academy,” she says. It also offers private and group lessons with certified instructors on gun safety; handling and shooting; and situational and judgmental training.

“Our partnership with Cook Children’s is very near and dear to our hearts, and we believe education is a fundamental step in firearm safety for adults, as well as children,” Parker says. “We believe our customers will be curious about the kiosk and interested in using it with their children. Our clientele are conscientious gun owners who know and value safety above all, so it’s a natural fit for them.”

“Having an interactive learning tool for children,” she adds, “is a wonderful concept to keep their attention and educate them in a fun way.”

The concept for the Aim for Safety program began with a study led by Dr. Guzman in which Cook Children’s brought parents into a room to observe what their children in an adjacent room (unaware they were being watched) would do when they found a real handgun hidden in a box, backpack or purse. The study’s results showed 90% of the children — even if they had been repeatedly educated on safe gun practices by their parents — looked directly down the barrel of the gun or handled the firearm without telling any adults. Although they were real, the guns couldn’t fire.

The parents in the study who observed their children were shocked when they saw "their kids pick up a gun, pointing it toward their face, put their finger on the trigger — all the things they’d been told not to do,” Dr. Guzman says. They thought their children would "respect the gun" and not do what other kids were doing, “but their kids did the exact same thing,” he says.

Following that study, the Center for Children’s Health at Cook Children’s took the Aim for Safety program to schools and community gatherings to educate families about gun safety, including safe storage. The program also challenges families to have conversations about what to do when children go to other homes, such as a friend’s or relative’s home, where guns might be kept.

Based on what Dr. Guzman has seen, most gun-related injuries are accidental, he says. As of March, 12 children have been treated for gun-related injuries at Cook Children’s this year. Thankfully, none were fatal. Last year, the hospital system reported treating 63 unintentional gun-related injuries, resulting in five deaths.

 “Unfortunately, we see children injured by firearms in our community far too often,” says Rick Merrill, president and CEO of Cook Children’s. “We are so thankful to have incredible community partners like Defender Outdoors who recognize the importance of gun safety and want to join forces with us to keep children safe.”

The kiosk is another way the hospital system can further its reach in the community and educate more families about the safe handling and storage of firearms, says Amy Johnson, program coordinator for the Center for Children’s Health (C4CH) and Safe Kids North Texas Coalition led by Cook Children’s.

Johnson says she’s looking forward to the possibilities it offers. With additional Aim for Safety kiosks planned in the near future, it’s possible the booths could be taken into schools for children to use. Also, a link for the program is being developed for use on computers, she says.

“We could bring that link with us into the schools and have everything that’s on the kiosk there on their computers,” she says.

Dana Walraven, manager of community health within the Center for Children’s Health at Cook Children’s, says she’s also excited about the Aim for Safety kiosk and its potential to reach the community through education and conversations.

Safe storage is an important part of all home safety plans, whether you have children or not, she says.

“Safe storage is key for all items that may be considered dangerous to others, such as medication, cleaning products, and, yes, firearms,” Walraven says. “In fact, gun ammunition also should be stored safely and separate from guns.”

Cook Children’s hope is the Aim for Safety educational kiosk “will be a platform for kids to learn alongside their parents and other adult family members,” she adds.

“Creating safe habits early on will help model safer behaviors later in life,” Walraven says. “Children may still make mistakes as they grow, but making conversations about guns more routine may help encourage safer choices.”

“You’ll shoot your eye out,” she said.

Toy guns have changed since the release of that 1983 classic depicting a 1940s family. If Ralphie were a kid today, he may have his sights set on a water-based gel blaster—one of the popular toy guns of this generation. And Ralphie’s mom would likely say the same, for good reason.

Any toy with a projectile has the potential to cause an injury, especially to the eye. Dan Guzman, M.D., is a pediatric emergency medicine physician on the medical staff at Cook Children’s Medical Center. He also leads Cook Children’s Aim for Safety initiative, which is designed to reduce injuries through gun safety education. Dr. Guzman recently purchased a gel water ball gun to see for himself what hazards they pose to children. Also known as gel soft guns, these toy shooters are similar in design to airsoft guns, but their bullets are made of biodegradable water-filled beads.

“The bullets feel really squishy,” Dr. Guzman said. “But they’re definitely a projectile, and any projectile to the face or in the eye is going to hurt or may cause some injury. I shot them at a tree to see what they would do. Some of the bullets exploded into nothing, but there were some that seemed to be crystallized and actually turned into smaller projectiles once they exploded, which concerned me a little bit.”

A review of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s electronic injury surveillance system found more than 6,500 cases of eye trauma from toy guns with projectiles between 2010 and 2019, according to a study published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. The most common injury was ocular contusion, better known as a black eye. The most serious wound was an open globe injury. Most of those injured were boys, and more injuries occured in December than any other month of the year.

“I haven't seen a lot of injuries from these gel guns just yet, because I think they are relatively new, but I suspect after the holiday, I will,” Dr. Guzman said.

If Santa leaves a projectile-firing toy gun under your tree, Dr. Guzman has a few tips to help keep your child, and those anywhere near the line of fire, safe from injury.

“I'm not going to tell you you shouldn't have one,” Dr. Guzman said. “But I’m definitely going to tell you how to do it safely to make sure your kid doesn't end up in my ER with some horrible injury where they've lost vision in one of their eyes and they'll never be able to see out of that eye again.”

Wear eye protection. Many manufacturers place this warning on their toy gun products, and some even come with eye protection.

Supervise your child and teen when playing with toy guns. They may not be as life threatening but they do shoot powerful projectiles and can cause significant and life-altering injury. Kids—especially teens—are naturally impulsive and don’t always think through the potential consequences of their actions, like what could happen if you aim at someone’s head, or turn the gun towards your face to look down the barrel, or shoot from too close of a distance.

“We just want people to be safe,” Dr. Guzman said. “With these eye injuries, many recover, but some don’t. You truly could put an eye out and nobody wants to be responsible for that.”

Teach kids to respect the danger. To some degree, toy guns that shoot projectiles, be them water-based gel beads or plastic pellets, need to be treated with the same respect and caution as a real gun. Closely monitoring your child while playing with a toy gun gives you the opportunity to see how they interact with the gun, correct concerning behavior and opens the door for conversations about safety that may translate to real guns.

As an emergency department physician, Dr. Guzman has witnessed first hand the devastation that can occur when a gun isn’t handled or stored properly. That’s what drives his passion for gun safety.

“I want to give families the tools to be able to make a great decision,” he said. “If we’re going to play with a toy gun that shoots a projectile, it’s important to know some basic safety steps to keep the entire family safe. Those key safety points then help to shape the conversation about real guns.”

It’s a good idea to practice the same safety measures with projectile firing toy guns as you would with a real gun. When not in use, toy guns should be stored away where kids can’t freely access them. And if they do happen upon one, be sure they know how to respond.

“That's another key point,” Dr. Guzman explained. “What do you do when you find something like this, even a toy, when you go to a friend's house? You don't just pick it up and start pointing at people and playing with it. They need to know to respect that object so they can respond safely.”

Make sure your child knows to keep toy guns at home. Never take them to school or a public place where they can be mistaken for a real gun.

While we love taking care of our patients, the last place you want to spend your holiday if you can avoid it is in the emergency department. Play smart and be safe. We “triple-dog-dare ya.”

“We went to PE, and we were playing on the playground like normal,” Crystal said. “I didn’t know they were gunshots, the popping sounded like fireworks.”

On that fateful day, a car filled with teenage boys opened fire on the playground. When Crystal noticed a friend was bleeding, she ran over to help. Quickly after, another classmate told her that she too was bleeding.

“All I remember was my granddaddy being the first person there, and my mom was out of it,” Crystal said. In “Once the first responders got there, I was in and out of it.”

Crystal was rushed to Cook Children’s Emergency Department with a gunshot wound to her hip.

“We got to Cook Children’s and the hospital was amazing for us to be in such a trauma state,” Crystal remembered. “They made us feel like we were having fun in trauma if that makes sense.”

Crystal recalls the medical staff at Cook Children’s making her and her family feel like they were the only family in the entire hospital. “The nurses and the doctors made sure we were good around the clock. I have never seen anything like it,” Crystal said.

Still, Crystal’s mother was afraid she wasn’t going to make it. She remembers the fear in her mother’s eyes as doctors and nurses were yelling orders and pulling tubes. She says she kept repeating, “God you’re going to have to work this out and keep me alive.” Even at a young age, she remembers her faith playing a big part in the whole experience.

Crystal and her mother spent several days at Cook Children’s. Because of where the bullet went in her hip, doctors did not perform surgery because they were afraid it could do more damage than good. They worried she could be paralyzed from the waist down because it was so close to her tailbone.

“The bullet is still in me 31 years later,” Crystal expressed. “They kept an eye on it for several years to make sure it didn’t go near my tailbone or to see if it would surface, but neither happened.”

Crystal says she periodically still feels a sharp pain in her hip.

After the incident, Crystal did not return to finish her school year at Sunrise Elementary. Her mother, a police officer at the time, was afraid of anything else happening to her child. Crystal says it wasn’t unusual to hear gunshots in her neighborhood, and it took a long time for her to adjust to hearing the “popping” sound.

“It took a long time for me to get over it and suppress it in the back of my mind and for everything to be okay,” Crystal said. She spent several years in counseling to process the shooting, deal with sound triggers and move past the event.

Years later, Crystal became a wife, mother, and nurse. She credits the care she received at Cook Children’s to pursuing a career in nursing, as well as her love for serving others. She says her biggest challenge was overcoming the fear she had when her children started school.

“I feared my daughter going to school and something happening to her. Especially now that people go into the schools and shoot students,” Crystal said. “It was especially hard for her going into third grade. I started praying every day for God to protect her and I’m doing the same for my son now who is in second grade.”

Crystal says the increase in school shootings over the years does trigger flashbacks. She always asks the question, “How do we protect our children in school from the playground to the classroom?”

While her shooting was an isolated incident, she believes children in every community deserve better. She also says ‘thank you’ would never be enough for the staff at Cook Children’s that saved her life.

“I appreciate the care that was given to me and my mom,” Crystal expressed. “I’ve never seen a staff work in unison the way they do at Cook Children’s, even over the years when I’ve brought in my children. There’s a culture at Cook Children’s that can’t be beaten, they set an example of what all hospitals should be like across the country. The nurses and doctors care about their patients and that’s something I have always appreciated.”

Crystal says the care she received at Cook Children’s is something she has always reciprocated in her nursing career.

“I always think back to how well they took care of me, and I value that and make sure to model that in my work.”

In Cook Children’s Emergency Department, treating gunshot victims requires all hands on deck. The moments are precious as staff work against the clock to save young lives. The goal? To rescue every child who comes through the sliding doors. The reality? Children with gunshot wounds are among those most likely to die from their injuries.

For emergency room physicians like Dan Guzman, M.D., caring for shooting victims is particularly bothersome because gunshot wounds are preventable. He fears he will see many shooting victims in the coming months as summer is typically a busy time for this type of injury.

“Kids are out of school, and parents are working,” he said. “Children will find a gun that’s not locked or hidden, and a matter of seconds can change a family’s life.”

As of May, 35 children have already been treated at Cook Children’s with gunshot wounds in 2021. Two died. Compare that to 2019 when 41 children were treated for gunshot wounds, including five deaths, and 2020, which totaled 47 patients and four deaths.

“We are five months into 2021 and are on track to exceed prior years,” Dr. Guzman said. “We haven’t reached the halfway point and we’ve already lost two patients.”

While most of the situations stemmed from unintentional gunshots, Dr. Guzman says all of the incidents could have been avoided.

“The vast majority of the kids that we see suffer from head and neck injuries. It's almost impossible to save a life because the damage has been done to the brain.” Dr. Guzman said.

Celeste Calhoun and Jill Plunkett are emergency room nurses with a combined 20+ years of experience. They both agree that seeing gunshot victims coming through the emergency department has happened more often than they’d care to see.

“Gunshots are preventable for children,” Calhoun said. “Children don't go out with an intent to harm each other. They usually obtain the gun because it was left open or out, and by playing with it. Not knowing that it's loaded or what it can do when they aim it at someone and squeeze the trigger.”

Plunkett says her husband was raised around police officers and guns, she and her husband made it a point to teach their two children about gun safety and education at a young age.

“We have guns in our home, they were never loaded and my children didn’t even know the code to the safe until they were adults. They knew the guns were in our home, and if they ever wanted to see them or had questions, my husband would take them out and educate them, but they were never accessible,” Plunkett explained.

Dr. Guzman agrees that education is key. He says he understands why parents may feel they need guns for the safety of their family, however, there is a safe way to have a weapon in the home - locked up.

“Let's put our guns away. For the safety of our children, let's make sure that we're making the right choices,” Dr. Guzman said. “If you can buy a safe, 100%, get a safe and put that gun away. This is not about who can have a gun or who shouldn't have a gun. The bottom line is our children’s safety.”

Dr. Guzman worries that recent state legislation coupled with a spike in gun sales nationwide could lead to more unintentional child shootings.

“Last year (2020) was a bad year, we saw more injuries than we’d seen in the last five years,” Dr. Guzman explained.

The plea is simple. If there are guns in your home, educate your children and make sure they are in a safe and secure place.

“We want to help people avoid having to be in our emergency department, to be safe at home, and live a long life without ever having to see us,” Dr. Guzman said.

Calhoun, who is also a mother, shares another piece of advice that is often forgotten by parents.

“Make sure you know where your child's going to visit and play,” Calhoun said. “If they're going to another home with another child, have that awkward conversation with the parents to find out if they have guns in their home and what safety precautions they take to protect their children.”

Lastly, Dr.Guzman says when educating families, it is important to note that handguns are not the only kind of gun that can injure a child.

“We hear about handguns and firearm accidents in the news,” Dr. Guzman said. “We can’t forget children are injured by BB guns and pellet guns too. I’ve seen children die from BB guns and pellet guns, so we have to be cognizant at all times.”

“We’ve seen gun sales increase significantly nationwide over the past several months,” said Dan Guzman, M.D., a Cook Children’s emergency physician. “Now, with many children being in the home for longer periods of time, curiosity and boredom are something we need to expect. We have to stay vigilant and make sure we’re doing everything we can to prevent a tragic accident.”

According to Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting, this year’s gun sales have already eclipsed 2019 by more than one million firearms.

“With the hunting season about to begin in earnest and the presidential election season about to start in earnest as well, 2020 will without doubt exceed the previous high of 16.6 million units sold in 2016,” SAAF chief economist Jurgen Brauer wrote in an emailed statement provided to FOX Business.

Last year, 41 children were admitted to Cook Children’s for injuries related to guns (including handguns, rifles, shotguns and other firearms such as BB guns.) With 23 children already injured in 2020, Dr. Guzman fears he could see more of these patients this year than last.

“I think most people think this ‘won’t happen to us’ because we’ve taught our kids to never touch guns,” Dr. Guzman said. “But if you aren’t taking the proper precautions as the adult and parent, it’s probably only a matter of when, not if, your life may be affected by an unintentional discharge involving someone you know, and maybe even your child.”

Building awareness for gun safety is a passion for Dr. Guzman. He’s the medical director of the Aim for Safety program at Cook Children’s, which promotes firearm safety for children. The program, which has been featured in several news stories, is a multi-step interactive experience that provides parental awareness and teaches children the steps they should take when they encounter a firearm.

“As parents need to feel comfortable having open-ended conversations with others where our children may play and stay,” he said. “That includes family members and close friends. Don’t be afraid to ask if there’s a gun in the home and if so, how it is stored. Keep the conversation focused on safety and not politics.”

Dr. Guzman offers these safety tips:

The 3 Ts of firearm safety and children

Talk – This includes your family, neighbors and friends. When your child visits other homes, ask the owners if there are guns in their homes and how they are stored. Dr. Guzman said this question is not to be insulting, but to keep your children safe from unsecured firearms.

Teach – Have a conversation with your kids about what to do if they see a gun:

• Stop
• Don’t touch the gun
• Run away
• Tell someone

Take – Dr. Guzman is asking gun owners to take action and store their firearms properly. And, to take personal responsibility for our children’s safety.

Dan Guzman, M.D., a Cook Children’s emergency physician, called the day gut-wrenching for the victims, their families, and the medical staff that took care of the kids, ranging from ages 3 to 14.

Gun awareness and gun safety is 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.

“I think most people think this ‘won’t happen to us’ because we’ve taught our kids to never touch guns,” Dr. Guzman said. “But if you aren’t taking the proper precautions as the adult and parent, it’s probably only a matter of when, not if, your life may be affected by an unintentional discharge involving someone you know, and maybe even your child.”

Firearm-related fatalities are a top 3 cause of death among children in the United States.

Dr. Guzman said before the weekend, the medical center staff sees about one child per week. Already in 2019, three gunshot wounds treated at the medical center have been fatal.

“Unfortunately, the tragedy of children falling victim to unsecured firearms continues to happen daily,” Dr. Guzman said. “These preventable incidents and the pain and suffering they inflict can be reduced by properly securing your firearms.”

As part of the program, Dr. Guzman offers these safety tips to follow:

The 3 Ts of firearm safety and children

Talk – This includes your family, neighbors and friends. When your child visits other homes, ask the owners if there are guns in their homes and how they are stored. Dr. Guzman said this question is not to be insulting, but to keep your children safe from unsecured firearms.

Teach – Have a conversation with your kids about what to do if they see a gun:

• Stop
• Don’t touch the gun
• Run away
• Tell someone

Take – Dr. Guzman is asking gun owners to take action and store their firearms properly. And, to take personal responsibility for our children’s safety.

Dr. Guzman stressed that children are curious and impulsive which can be deadly when paired with a firearm. Storing a loaded firearm under the mattress, in a bedside table or a closet is placing your family at risk, Dr. Guzman added.

The most secure place for your firearm is in a safe with the ammunition stored separately. Unsecured firearms should always be in your possession. If you are unable to purchase a gun safe, then separating the ammunition from the firearm and using a cable or trigger lock will help reduce the risk of unintentional injury to your child.

“It’s important to assess and evaluate your home injury risk and find ways to reduce the hazards in your home whether it is related to firearms, water safety, poisonings or any other safety risks,” Dr. Guzman said. “Discussing with your children the importance of what to do when they encounter a firearm can help to reduce unintentional injury in your home.

“That week highlighted my concern for gun awareness and safety,” Dr. Guzman said. “In one case, the handgun didn’t belong to the family of the injured child. I remember thinking, ‘What can be done about this?’”

Last year, he began the new “Aim for Safety” program at Cook Children’s. 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.

“I think most people think this ‘won’t happen to us’ because we’ve taught our kids to never touch guns,” Dr. Guzman said. “But if you aren’t taking the proper precautions as the adult and parent, it’s probably only a matter of when, not if, your life may be affected by an unintentional discharge involving someone you know, and maybe even your own child.”

Firearm-related fatalities are a top 3 cause of death among children in the United States.

A new article published today in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, looked at changes in firearm ownership among families with young children from 1976 to 2016. And while there has been a decline in firearm ownership over the past 40 years, the firearm-related mortality rates among young children has risen over the past decade.

The authors of the study linked the increase in firearm-related mortality among young children to the types of guns in families’ homes.

In white American households, handguns increased from 49 percent of the total guns owned in 1976 to 72 percent in 2016. Over the past decade, child deaths from firearms have doubled from 0.36 per 100,000 children ages 1 to 4 to 0.63 per 100,000.

“For example, smaller firearms, such as handguns, are easier for young children to handle, given evidence suggesting that children as young as 2 possess the tensile strength to operate a handgun,” the authors wrote.

The data collected came as no surprise to Dr. Guzman.

“One out of every three homes with children in the U.S. has a gun, but sadly the vast majority of these guns are kept unlocked and loaded,” Dr. Guzman said. “Many of these firearms are within reach of a child whose parents believe the child doesn’t know about the weapon or is unable to reach the firearm.”

In Texas, 36 percent of adults have a household firearm and more than 199,000 children currently live with unlocked, loaded firearms in their home.

“Tarrant County has the second highest registered license to carry holders in Texas, second only to Harris County,” Dr. Guzman said. “The potential for injury to a child you may know has grown exponentially, as the number of firearms sold in Texas has skyrocketed."

As a gun owner himself, Dr. Guzman asks you to take the same steps he does to protect children:

• Store firearms unloaded and in locked locations, out of reach of children.
• Use trigger locks and gun boxes.
• Secure ammunition separately.
• Hide gun safe and trigger lock keys.
• Keep unlocked guns in your possession.
• Make sure all guns are equipped with effective, child resistant gun locks.
• If a visitor has a gun in backpack, briefcase, handbag, or unlocked car, provide them with a locked place to keep it while they are in your home.

An important aspect of the Aim for Safety program is telling children what they should do if they come across a gun. If your child sees a gun, teach them to:

• Stop
• Don’t touch
• Run away
• Tell a grown up

Dr. Guzman said, because of children’s natural curiosity, they are at the greatest risk of unintentional deaths, injuries and even suicides in the teen population. Because of this, much of the emphasis of the Aim for Safety program is for the adults to take responsibility for a child’s safety.

While it’s a life-saving approach to secure your own guns and to talk to children about what to do if they see a gun, Dr. Guzman said many parents are uncomfortable to talk to other families about this issue.

Before your child’s next visit to a friend, Dr. Guzman advices you ask the parents of your child’s friends if they have guns in their homes and how they are being stored.

“Do you know where your children go to play,” Dr. Guzman said. “Would you ask the parents of your children’s friends if they have guns in their home and if they are secured? Most parents don’t ask those questions, even though they could mean the difference between life and death.”