General Information
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety restraints for children.
WARNING:
Always make sure your child is secured properly in a device that is appropriate for their height, age and weight. Child safety restraints must be bought separately from your vehicle. Failure to follow these instructions and guidelines may result in an increased risk of serious injury or death to your child.
WARNING:
All children are shaped differently. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other safety organizations, base their recommendations for child restraints on probable child height, age and weight thresholds, or on the minimum requirements of the law. We recommend that you check with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) to make sure that you properly install the child restraint in your vehicle and that you consult your pediatrician to make sure you have a child restraint appropriate for your child. To locate a child restraint fitting station and CPST, contact NHTSA toll free at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada, contact Transport Canada toll free at 1-800-333-0371 or go to www.tc.gc.ca to find a Child Car Seat Clinic in your area. Failure to properly restrain children in child restraints made especially for their height, age and weight, may result in an increased risk of serious injury or death to your child.
WARNING:
On hot days, the temperature inside the vehicle can rise very quickly. Exposure of people or animals to these high temperatures for even a short time can cause death or serious heat related injuries, including brain damage. Small children are particularly at risk. |
Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children
| Child | Child Size, Height, Weight, or Age | Recommended Restraint Type |
|---|---|---|
| Infants or toddlers | Children weighing 18 kg or less (generally age four or younger). | Use a child restraint (sometimes called an infant carrier, convertible seat, or toddler seat). |
| Small children | Children who have outgrown or no longer properly fit in a child restraint (generally children who are less than 1.45 m tall, are greater than age four and less than age 12, and between 18 kg and 36 kg and upward to 45 kg if recommended by your child restraint manufacturer). | Use a belt-positioning booster seat. |
| Larger children | Children who have outgrown or no longer properly fit in a belt-positioning booster seat (generally children who are at least 1.45 m tall or greater than 36 kg or 45 kg if recommended by child restraint manufacturer). | Use a vehicle seatbelt having the lap belt snug and low across the hips, shoulder belt centered across the shoulder and chest, and seat backrest upright. |
- You are required by law to properly use child restraints for infants and toddlers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
- Many states and provinces require that small children use approved booster seats until they reach age eight, a height of 1.45 m tall, or 36 kg. Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements about the safety of children in your vehicle.
- When possible, properly restrain children 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. See Front Passenger Sensing System.
- When installing a rear facing child restraint, adjust the vehicle seats to avoid interference between the child restraint and the vehicle seat in front of the child restraint.
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