Learn More Take the safety belt fit test Learn more about booster seats Listen to “4 STEPS” Watch Video

Are Your Kids “On That Seat Belt Tip?”

Parents always want to do what’s best to help protect their kids. And that is especially true when it comes to using car seats for infants and toddlers.

What many parents don’t know is that once a child outgrows a car seat, the next step for safety isn’t the adult seat belt. It’s a booster seat.

Children who need a booster seat but are only using an adult safety belt are at a much higher risk for serious injury in the event of a crash. Using a seat belt alone is always better than nothing, but a booster seat helps the adult seat belt fita child’s frame and offer the best protection. An investment of $20—about the cost of two movie tickets—could help protect your child.

If your child is under 4’9” in height and weighs 80 to 100 pounds, it’s likely that he or she needs to be sitting on a booster in a back seat. Most kids reach this height and weight between the ages of 8 and 12. Safe Kids has developed the Safety Belt Fit Test—it’s an easy way for parents to determine if their tween needs a booster to help protect them.

Kids in the tween years are becoming more independent so it’s important to talk to them about making the right safety decisions—even when you’re not around. Make sure friends, family and neighbors know the rules when transporting your kids—that your child must always ride on a booster seat until he or she passes the Safety Belt Fit Test. No exceptions. Also, no child 13 and under should ever ride in the front seat of a vehicle. Kids are always safest in the back.

Need Help?

We know that getting a tween back into a booster seat is a challenge. That’s why Safe Kids is working with Chevrolet and rap duo Slum Village to help kids understand why using a booster and a seat belt is necessary every time they ride in a car.

The song “4 Steps” with its refrain of “sit, pull, cross and click!” will help teach kids the fundamentals of vehicle safety: to always sit in the back seat, to buckle up properly, and to use booster seat when the seat belt doesn’t fit properly.With the help of Slum Village, we’re hoping to convince kids a back seat is the sweet place to ride and that booster seats can be cool.

Tips for keeping kids in the backseat and in boosters

• Let your child control the tunes! Many vehicles have backseat music controls or let your kids pick the radio stations as a reward for buckling up the right way.

• Take your child booster shopping. Kids are more likely to use the seat if they have a choice in picking it out.

• Look for cool boosters.  Some seats come with cool fabrics or graphics; others have built-in cup holders or video game pouches.

• For older kids, select a less visible booster seat.  Low-back boosters for tweens are much less likely to be characterized by kids as a “baby” seat.