Their deaths might have been averted if the children had been in the back seat and wearing seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The deaths suggest that wearing seat belts should be a family rule, said NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez.
"Don't gamble with your child's life - regardless of whether a vehicle has an air bag or not," he said. "If children must ride in the front seat, move the seat back" as far as possible.
This is the first time the NHTSA has warned parents that air bags can kill or injure a child, or an elderly adult. Air bags have been blamed for head and neck trauma in children and chest trauma and laceration of internal organs in adults.
Previously, the NHTSA has warned of the risks to infants in rear-facing car seats in the front seat of cars equipped with air bags. Air bags have been blamed for the deaths of two infants.
Now the NHTSA is investigating the role - and risks - of air bags to children and to elderly adults. The deaths of 17 adults have been attributed to air bags. Most of those who died were frail, elderly women who had their seats way forward in the car and may not have been wearing seat belts.
Next week the NHTSA will issue a 200-page report on the problem and ask for public comment on air bag performance.
There is little doubt that, overall, air bags save lives. More than 15 million cars are equipped with air bags on both the driver and passenger side. In all, 50 million air bags are in use, and have deployed more than 500,000 times.
"They've proved extremely effective in saving over 900 lives," said Bill Boehly, the NHTSA's associate administrator for research and development.
But the issue for the NHTSA is: whether the knock-out punch of a deployed air bags is necessary - or is a killer of unbelted children and elderly adults.
