Overview
Young children are safest in the back seat of the car properly restrained in a car seat. When used properly, car seats help keep a child from being thrown inside, or ejected from the vehicle. A car seat also absorbs some of the impact force from a crash that may cause serious injury or death to the child.
Review Date 3/6/2019
Updated by: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.