The first week of September is National Childhood Injury Prevention Week, and it is a great time to remind families, schools, and communities about the importance of preventing injuries. At MORE HEALTH, we know that childhood injury prevention isn’t just a one-week focus. We have been committed to childhood injury prevention every day for the past 37 years. In fact, this idea is woven into our mission to provide health and safety education to children, teens, and adults, helping them make healthy, safe decisions.
Thousands of children are injured daily, and unintentional injury remains a leading cause of death and disability for children and teens in the United States. Motor vehicle crashes, poisoning, falls, burns, and related incidents are not just statistics. These represent moments that could have gone differently with a properly fitted helmet, a locked cabinet, a buckled seatbelt, or a conversation about safe practices.
The good news is that most of these injuries are preventable through education, consistent habits, and age-appropriate safety practices that MORE HEALTH brings to the classroom at every grade level. Prevention isn’t a poster on a wall in September. It’s a skill that must be taught, practiced, and reinforced as children grow. Here’s how that looks across the grade levels we serve.
Elementary School: Building the Foundation
Early safety habits last a lifetime, clear, consistent messaging is key
- Wear a properly fitted helmet when biking, scooting, or skating.
- Teach them to look left-right-left before crossing streets, use crosswalks, and watch for cars.
- Keep household poisons locked and out of reach. Teach them to “ask first” before tasting or touching things that could be harmful.
- Teach them what to do if they encounter a firearm: Halt! Hands Off! Get Out! Get Help!
- Always use the correct car or booster seat and buckle up for every ride.
Middle School: More Independence and Responsibility
Navigating risk and peer pressure through empowered decision-making
- Continue helmet and seat belt habits even when adults aren’t watching.
- Reinforce traffic rules, visibility, and the dangers of distracted walking and biking.
- Follow sports safety rules and use appropriate protective equipment.
- Reinforce firearm safety messaging: respect firearms, never handle one without adult supervision, and get help when needed.
- Discuss the risks of vaping, alcohol, and drugs and how to handle peer pressure or a friend making unsafe choices.
High School: Building Lifelong Safety Habits
Teens learn that safety depends on the choices they make themselves
- Require seat belt use every trip, every time.
- Never drive distracted, impaired, or recklessly, or ride with someone who does. Stay focused and aware whether driving, cycling, or walking.
- Continue using a helmet when on wheels.
- Use appropriate safety equipment for recreational/sport activities; know the signs of a concussion.
- Treat every firearm as loaded. Store guns unloaded and locked, and never use a gun when impaired, angry, or pressured by peers.
- Understand how alcohol and substance abuse can increase the risk of injury.
- Recognize that stress, lack of sleep, and emotional wellness can affect judgment, reaction time, and safety.
At every grade level, the goal is the same: give children the knowledge and skills to recognize potential risks and make safe choices. Prevention isn’t seasonal. MORE HEALTH is proud to help every child grow up healthy, safe, and strong.
