Children age 3 can unbuckle car seat

NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say children age 3 can unbuckle themselves from a car seat but many parents only discover this when they see their child free in the back seat.

Dr. Lilia Reyes, clinical fellow at Yale University's School of Medicine's department of pediatrics, and colleagues surveyed a sample of parents with children younger than age 6.

One hundred surveys were distributed to five urban and suburban general pediatric offices in Connecticut. Parents were asked at what age their children first unbuckled themselves from their safety restraints and whether the car was in motion or at a full stop, Reyes says.

The research team finds 75 percent of children who self-unbuckle were age 3 and under, with an age range of 12 to 78 months. Self-unbuckling was more common among boys than girls.

Of the children who self-unbuckled, 43 percent did so while the car was in motion -- more than tripling their risk of serious injury, Reyes says.

The findings were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver.