GM FYI Blog

By Carolyn Normandin
Chevrolet Product Communications

We at Chevy have noticed a problem when it comes to kids using a seat belt properly. Though parents have done a great job with child safety seats for younger children, many kids are moving from a car seat directly into the adult safety belt system when they should really be in a booster seat.

The rule is any child under about 4 feet, 9 inches and 80-100 pounds should be using a booster to make sure the seat belt fits the right way. But how do you get an 8-year-old to sit in a booster seat? Or, even worse, how about a small 10-year-old? Well, one solution is to reach out to these kids in a language they’ll understand: music.

Music is interactive entertainment. You can sing along, you can dance along, and you can pretend to be the singer. And if you are a “tween,” you’ll do all of the above over and over again. Thanks to mp3 players like the iPod, music is accessible, and a part of these kids’ daily routines. Music is central to kids’ lives.

Chevy teamed up with Safe Kids Worldwide and rappers Slum Village to speak to kids through hip-hop. “4 Steps” is a new, original song written by Slum Village, urging kids to “get on that seat belt tip.”

Here’s the refrain:

We on that seat belt tip, we on that seat belt tip,
we on that seat belt tip, we on that seat belt tip.
First we sit, pull, cross and click, then tell our
fam that we all strapped in
Let’s ride, ride, ride, ride…
We on that seat belt tip.

We took a message that kids don’t want to hear, but put it in a format they’ll sing along with and remember.

Tips for parents and a “Safety Belt Fit Test” can be found over at Safe Kids.

Download the lyrics
Listen to the song