Young Kids May Be Able to Unbuckle Car Seats
Young Kids May Be Able to Unbuckle Car Seats
May 2, 2011 -- Children as young as 1 year old can unbuckle themselves from car safety seats, a new survey of parents finds.
"We found that children can unbuckle from their child car safety seats by their fourth birthday, and there is an alarming 43% who do so when the car is in motion," says researcher Lilia Reyes, MD, a clinical fellow in pediatric emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven. "It was reported as early as 12 months."
The findings are being presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.
While working in the pediatric emergency room at Yale, Reyes encountered two different mothers who had minor car accidents. They told her it happened when they turned their heads around after discovering their kids had unbuckled themselves.
Trying to determine how frequently it happened, she and her colleagues from Yale surveyed 378 parents of young children. Among the other findings:
Parents were not asked if they were sure they had buckled correctly, Reyes tells WebMD. So there is a possibility the children weren't buckled in correctly. But parents do typically hear a click, like a seat safety belt, when the buckle latches, she says.
The problem, she says, is that while children may be able to physically unbuckle the seat, they are just beginning, at around age 3, to develop reasoning skills to appreciate the consequences of unbuckling.
Parents used seats of various types. They included the five-point harness, convertible seats, and booster seats, depending on their child's age and weight.
''This study raises questions about how the child restraint was used," says Lorrie Walker, training manager and technical advisor for Safe Kids USA, an advocacy group.
"Federal motor vehicle safety standard 213 requires the buckle to release using between 9 and 14 pounds of pressure," she says. "It is often challenging for an adult to unbuckle the harness."
"We found that children can unbuckle from their child car safety seats by their fourth birthday, and there is an alarming 43% who do so when the car is in motion," says researcher Lilia Reyes, MD, a clinical fellow in pediatric emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven. "It was reported as early as 12 months."
The findings are being presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.
Child Car Seats: How Secure?
While working in the pediatric emergency room at Yale, Reyes encountered two different mothers who had minor car accidents. They told her it happened when they turned their heads around after discovering their kids had unbuckled themselves.
Trying to determine how frequently it happened, she and her colleagues from Yale surveyed 378 parents of young children. Among the other findings:
- 51% or about 191 families reported that at least one of their children had unbuckled their car seats. Of these, 75% were age 3 or younger. The youngest was 12 months old.
- Boys unbuckled more than girls; 59% of the kids who unbuckled were boys.
Parents were not asked if they were sure they had buckled correctly, Reyes tells WebMD. So there is a possibility the children weren't buckled in correctly. But parents do typically hear a click, like a seat safety belt, when the buckle latches, she says.
The problem, she says, is that while children may be able to physically unbuckle the seat, they are just beginning, at around age 3, to develop reasoning skills to appreciate the consequences of unbuckling.
Parents used seats of various types. They included the five-point harness, convertible seats, and booster seats, depending on their child's age and weight.
Are Car Seats Really Buckled?
''This study raises questions about how the child restraint was used," says Lorrie Walker, training manager and technical advisor for Safe Kids USA, an advocacy group.
"Federal motor vehicle safety standard 213 requires the buckle to release using between 9 and 14 pounds of pressure," she says. "It is often challenging for an adult to unbuckle the harness."
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