Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children
Child size, height, weight, or ageRecommended
restraint type
Infants or
toddlersChildren weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less
(generally age four or younger)Use a child safety
seat (sometimes
called an infant
carrier,
convertible seat,
or toddler seat).
Small
childrenChildren who have outgrown or no
longer properly fit in a child safety
seat (generally children who are less
than 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall,
are greater than age four (4) and less
than age twelve (12), and between
40 lb (18 kg) and 80 lb (36 kg) and
upward to 100 lb (45 kg) if
recommended by your child restraint
manufacturer)Use a
belt-positioning
booster seat.
Larger
childrenChildren who have outgrown or no
longer properly fit in a belt-positioning
booster seat (generally children who
are at least 4 feet 9 inches
(1.45 meters) tall or greater than 80 lb
(36 kg) or 100 lb (45 kg) if
recommended by child restraint
manufacturer)Use a vehicle
safety belt having
the lap belt snug
and low across
the hips, shoulder
belt centered
across the
shoulder and
chest, and
seatback upright.
•You are required by law to properly use safety seats for infants and
toddlers in the U.S. and Canada.
•Many states and provinces require that small children use approved
booster seats until they reach age eight, a height of 4 ft 9 in.
(1.45 meters) tall, or 80 lb (36 kg). Check your local and state or
provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the safety of
children in your vehicle.
•When possible, always properly restrain children twelve (12) years of
age and under in a rear seating position of your vehicle. Accident
statistics suggest that children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seating positions than in a front seating position.
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Follow all the safety restraint and airbag precautions that apply to adult
passengers in your vehicle.
If the child is the proper height, age, and weight (as specified by your
child safety seat or booster manufacturer), fits the restraint and can be
restrained properly, then restrain the child in the child safety seat or
with the belt-positioning booster. Remember that child seats and
belt-positioning boosters vary and may be designed to fit children of
different heights, ages and weights. Children who are too large for child
safety seats or belt-positioning boosters (as specified by your child safety
seat manufacturer) should always properly wear safety belts.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Infant and/or toddler seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAirbag
supplemental restraint system
(SRS)section in this chapter.
•Carefully follow all of the
manufacturer’s instructions
included with the safety seat you
put in your vehicle. If you do not
install and use the safety seat
properly, the child may be injured
in a sudden stop or collision.
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. NEVER place a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag. If you must use a
forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the vehicle seat all the
way back.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
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9. Attach the tether strap (if the
child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with
tether strapslater in this chapter.
10. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly move the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place. To check
this, grab the seat at the belt path
and attempt to move it side to side
and forward and back. There should
be no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of movement for proper installation.
11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed. In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for
referral to a CPST.
Attaching child safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren) attachments
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2)
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind
that seating position.
LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted
attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH
equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment
method eliminates the need to use safety belts to attach the child seat,
however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For
forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to
the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided
with your child seat. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. SeeAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsandRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for childrenin this chapter for more information.
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The LATCH lower anchors are
located at the rear section of the
rear seat between the cushion and
seatback. Follow the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions to
properly install a child seat with
LATCH attachments.
Follow the instructions on attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
Refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
WARNING:Never attach two child safety seats to the same
anchor. In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough to hold
two child safety seat attachments and may break, causing serious
injury or death.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor, if applicable. Tug the
child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to
the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a crash greatly increases.
Combining safety belt and LATCH lower anchors for attaching
child safety seats
When used in combination, either the safety belt or the LATCH lower
anchors may be attached first, provided a proper installation is achieved.
Attach the tether strap afterward, if included with the child seat. Refer
toRecommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
in this chapter.
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Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
WARNING:When using forward-facing child safety seats in
vehicles with only two seating positions or the forward-facing
child safety seat cannot be placed in the rear of the vehicle, move the
passenger seat as far back from the instrument panel as possible.
Many forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
extends from the back of the child safety seat and hooks to an anchoring
point called the top tether anchor. Tether straps are available as an
accessory for many older safety seats. Contact the manufacturer of your
child seat for information about ordering a tether strap, or to obtain a
longer tether strap if the tether strap on your safety seat does not reach
the appropriate top tether anchor in the vehicle.
The front passenger and rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with
built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
Attach the tether strap only to the appropriate tether anchor as shown.
The tether strap may not work properly if attached somewhere other
than the correct tether anchor.
Once the child safety seat has been installed using either the safety belt,
the lower anchors of the LATCH system, or both, you can attach the top
tether strap.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, and have
attached the top tether strap to the proper top tether anchor, do not
tighten the tether strap enough to lift the child seat off the vehicle seat
cushion when the child is seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug
without lifting the front of the child seat. Keeping the child seat just
touching the vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe crash.
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4. Adjust the front right hand
passenger seat to the full rearward
position.
5. Tighten the child safety seat
tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
Second row bucket seats (Quads)
The tether strap can be attached
directly to the tether bracket under
the back edge of the seat cushion.
1. Route the child safety tether strap over the back of the left hand or
right hand second row bucket seat.
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2. Clip the tether strap hook to the
seat pedestal at the location shown.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety seat may
not be retained properly in the
event of a collision.
3. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth row bench seats
For the center position of a
three-passenger bench seat, the
tether strap can be attached directly
to the tether bracket provided
under the back edge of the seat
cushion. For the outboard positions,
the tether strap can be attached to
the slot in the side of the seat
pedestal.
1. For any three-passenger bench seat, place the child safety seat in any
of the seating positions. For the four passenger bench, the tether
anchors are located on the left and right hand positions only.
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2. Route the child safety tether
strap over the back of the bench
seat.
3. For any three passenger bench,
clip the center tether strap hook to
the tether bracket mounted under
rear rail of seat cushion frame. For
either the three or four passenger
bench, clip the outboard tether
strap hooks to the tether bracket
slot provided on the left side of each
seat pedestal. The slot is located
between the two holes.
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a collision.
4. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
If your child restraint system is equipped with a tether strap, and the
child restraint manufacturer recommends its use, Ford also recommends
its use.
Child booster seats
The belt-positioning booster (booster seat) is used to improve the fit of
the vehicle safety belt. Children outgrow a typical child seat (e.g.,
convertible or toddler seat) when they weigh about 40 lb (18 kg) and are
around four (4) years of age. Consult your child safety seat owner guide
for the weight, height, and age limits specific to your child safety seat.
Keep your child in the child safety seat if it properly fits the child,
remains appropriate for their weight, height and age AND if properly
secured to the vehicle.
Although the lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, children
who have outgrown a typical child seat are still too small for lap/shoulder
belts to fit properly, and wearing an improperly fitted vehicle safety belt
could increase the risk of serious injury in a crash. To improve the fit of
both the lap and shoulder belt on children who have outgrown child
safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use of a belt-positioning
booster.
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