Search all of NY.gov

Information for a Healthy New York

You are Here: Home Page > Car Safety - Child Passenger Safety > 4 Steps 4 Kids - The Right Seat Matters for Safety  

4 Steps 4 Kids - The Right Seat Matters for Safety

• 4 Steps 4 Kids - The Right Seat Matters for Safety is available as either a Poster (PDF, 1MB, 1pg.) or a Tip Card (PDF, 1MB, 2pg.) in Portable Document Format.

Step 1: Rear-Facing Child Seats

Use a rear-facing car seat until your child is 2 years old or reaches the highest weight or height limit allowed by the manufacturer. A convertible or 3-in-1 car seat should be used in the rear-facing position for babies who outgrow infant only car seats.

Step 2: Forward-Facing Child Seats

Use a forward-facing car seat when your child is 2 years or older, or if younger than 2 years old and has outgrown the rear-facing seat. Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer.

Step 3: Booster Seats

Use a belt positioning booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt when your child has reached the highest weight or height limit of the forward-facing car seat. Keep your child in a booster seat until the lap and shoulder belt fit properly, usually between 8 and 12 years old.

Step 4: Safety Belts

Use a lap and shoulder belt when the seat belts fit properly. The lap belt should be low and snug across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt should lie across the middle of the chest and shoulder. Children should be tall enough to comfortably bend their knees over the edge of the back seat with their back against the vehicle seat.

Other Safety Tips

1. Restrain your child on every trip. Most crashes occur at low speeds and close to home.
2. The best seat fits your child's size, is correctly installed and is used properly every time.
3. Weigh and measure your child often to make sure the right type of restraint is being used.
4. Set a good example for your child. Buckle up!

Need Help?

A certified child passenger safety technician can check your child safety seat and answer questions about child passenger safety. To find a child safety seat event and inspection station in your area, go to safeny.ny.gov/events.htm

For more information about child passenger safety, go to New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee safeny.ny.gov

• New York State Department of Health
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

For information about New York State's Occupant Restraint Law, go to safeny.ny.gov/media/belt-bro.htm