Injury prevention program

Protecting your children is your top priority. It’s ours, too. Together with your family, school and community, Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital’s Injury Prevention Program helps save lives. Through this initiative and our community leadership with Safe Kids Greater Grand Rapids, our team educates health care professionals, community groups and children. That’s because we know safe kids are happy kids. 

• Car-seat safety checkups and classes
• Educational videos and materials on preventing injuries
• Safety tips
• Sports injury clinic

Our efforts are based on community needs and scientific evidence, so we can make the greatest possible impact.

Watch our videos to learn how to:

• Fit and fasten your child’s bike helmet, which reduces the risk of brain injury while riding by nearly 90%
• Teach children to stay safe while walking around a neighborhood

If your kids love sports on wheels, explore even more tips for bicycle, in-line skating and skateboarding safety.

Watch a demonstration of how to install a car seat and harness your children to keep them safe in case of a crash. Then, review additional information:

• Car seat safety checklist (English) [PDF]
• Car seat safety checklist (Spanish) [PDF]
• Installing and using child safety seats and booster seats

Fix common safety issues around the home, where most child injuries happen.

Support safe and sound infant slumber at bedtime and naptime with simple, lifesaving tips.

Sports are good for staying healthy and making friends, but kids need adults’ guidance to enjoy them safely. If you’re a parent or coach, you can reduce the risk of injury by:

• Requiring sports physicals or bringing your child to a primary care doctor for a checkup before starting athletic activity
• Requiring baseline brain function testing before sports or getting your child evaluated to help doctors diagnose a possible concussion later
• Ensuring kids wear the right sports gear, including helmets 
• Making time for warmups and stretching before practices and games
• Providing water and water breaks 
• Allowing time for rest and encouraging kids to report pain 

Get more advice on sports injury prevention, including staying well during play.

Help kids have fun safely at the pool, at the beach, and even in the bathtub by:

• Never leaving children alone in or near water, even if they’re in a baby bath seat, the water is shallow or they know how to swim
• Learning CPR
• Putting up a fence and locked gate with an alarm around a private pool and turning over inflatable pools when not in use
• Teaching children how to swim and practice water safety, such as avoiding pool drains, entering water feet-first, and wearing a life jacket when on or near open water 

Explore more water safety tips for your little ones of all ages.

Get expert guidance on: 

• Choking prevention 
• Toy safety