State law requires that a child be in a booster seat until they are at least 6 years of age of 60 pounds.  The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that a child remain in a booster seat until they are at least 8 years of age, 80 pounds, or 4'9" tall.  The longer you can keep your child in a booster seat the better.  This will help ensure that the seatbelt is positioned on the child correctly.

How do I know when my child is safe to ride without a booster seat?
If you can answer YES to ALL five of the following questions, then your child should be ready to stop using a booster seat and start using just the seatbelt.

• Can the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat?
• When sitting all the way back in the seat, do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat?
• Is the lap belt on the top part of the child’s thighs?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the child’s chest and shoulders?
  **Never put the shoulder belt behind the child.  If it is too high and goes across their neck or face, they need to be in a booster seat.
• Can the child stay seated like this for the entire trip?

Batter Up! Strike out Child Passenger Injury

The next time you attend one of your child’s T-ball games, you may find a new team taking the field.  Strike Out Child Passenger Injury is a multi-state study to determine if an intervention through a popular community sporting event (t-ball) will increase use of child passenger restraints, specifically booster seats for children ages 4 to 7, in rural communities. The study uses intervention sites paired against control sites to test whether or not the model increased use of optimal child restraints and increased interest in child passenger safety education in communities.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injury Free Coalition sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana will participate.

Want to learn more about Strike Out?
Contact: Byron Anderson, andersonbyronl@uams.edu

Need to have your seat checked?
Contact: Joy Moix, moixjoy@uams.edu, 501-364-3400

Need help finding a child passenger technician in your area?
Contact: Virginia Lancaster, lancastervirginiae@uams.edu

For more information contact:

Byron Anderson
501-364-3400
E-mail

Helpful Resources for Parents/Caregivers

• Download the Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet
  
  
• Download the Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet in Spanish
  

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