Well-belted kids
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Kids don't like to sit still. But in a car, they not only have to stay in the seat, it has to be the right seat. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Arlene Greenspan says buckling a child into an adult seat belt isn't good enough.
Greenspan says that child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. Compared with adult seat belts, booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59 percent for 4- to 7-year-olds.
Placement counts, too:
[Dr. Arlene Greenspan speaks] "Your child is safest when placed in the back seat and positioned in the middle of the car if possible. All children younger than 13 should sit in the back seat."
And in a safety seat that's installed properly.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.