Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control — Content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (public domain).
Key points
- Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of death among children in the U.S., but many of these deaths can be prevented.
- To reduce risk of serious injury and death, properly buckle children in car seats, booster seats, or seat belts appropriate for their age and size.
Fast facts
In 2023, 1,019 child passengers ages 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S.,1 and more than 142,000 were injured.2
Of the children who were killed in a crash, 43% were not buckled up.1
Keep reading: Risk Factors for Child Passengers
Know the stages
Child passenger safety guidelines for parents and caregivers
Make sure your child is always buckled in a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt that is appropriate for their age and size.
REAR-FACING CAR SEAT
Birth until age 2–4
Buckle children in a rear-facing car seat with a harness until they reach the maximum weight or height limit of their car seat. Keep children rear-facing as long as possible. Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat. Front passenger air bags can injure or kill young children in a crash.
FORWARD-FACING CAR SEAT
After outgrowing rear-facing car seat and until at least age 5
When children outgrow their rear-facing car seat, they should be buckled in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and a top tether in the back seat until they reach the maximum weight or height limit of their car seat.
BOOSTER SEAT
After outgrowing forward-facing car seat and until seat belt fits properly
When children outgrow their forward-facing car seat, they should be buckled in a booster seat in the back seat until the seat belt fits properly without a booster seat. Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are age 9–12.
SEAT BELT
****When seat belt fits properly without a booster seat
Children no longer need to use a booster seat when the seat belt fits them properly. A seat belt fits properly when the lap belt is across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt is across the center of the shoulder and chest (not across the neck or face, and not off the shoulder).
Keep children properly buckled in the back seat until age 13.
*****Recommended age ranges for each seat type vary to account for differences in child growth and weight/height limits of car seats and booster seats. Use the car seat or booster seat manual to check for important information about installation, the seat weight and height limits, and proper seat use.
Child passenger safety recommendations: American Academy of Pediatrics 2018.
www.cdc.gov/child-passenger-safety/about
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Keep reading: Preventing Child Passenger Injury
Resources and tools
- Find a child passenger safety technician
- Find a car seat inspection station
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Child Safety Information for Parents and Caregivers
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Links:
- AAP website for parents (Healthychildren.org): Car Seats: Information for Families
- AAP Child Passenger Safety Policy Statement
- AAP Child Passenger Safety Technical Report
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Links:
- CDC’s Early Care and Education Portal – Safety, Health, and Injury Prevention
- Access this portal to learn more about how early care and education providers can keep children safe and healthy and prevent injuries among children