Children Too Large For Booster Seats. Lower Anchors And Tethers For CHildren (LATCH) Restraint System

Children Too Large For Booster Seats

Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder belt comfortably, and whose legs are long enough to bend over the front of the seat when their back is against the seatback, should use the seat belt in a rear seat. Use this simple 5-step test to decide whether the child can use the vehicle's seat belt alone:

1.  Can the child sit all the way back against the back of the vehicle seat?
2.  Do the child's knees bend comfortably over the front of the vehicle seat - while they are still sitting all the way back?
3.  Does the shoulder belt cross the child's shoulder between their neck and arm?
4.  Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the child's thighs and not their stomach?
5.  Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If the answer to any of these questions was "no," then the child still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle. If the child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check seat belt fit periodically and make sure the seat belt buckle is latched.

Achild's squirming or slouching can move the belt out of position. If the shoulder belt contacts the face or neck, move the child closer to the center of the vehicle, or use a booster seat to position the seat belt on the child correctly.

Recommendations For Attaching Child Restraints

Lower Anchors And Tethers For CHildren (LATCH) Restraint System

Your vehicle is equipped with the child restraint anchorage system called LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. The LATCH system has three vehicle anchor points for installing LATCHequipped child seats. There are two lower anchorages located at the back of the seat cushion where it meets the seatback and one top tether anchorage located behind the seating position. These anchorages are used to install LATCH-equipped child seats without using the vehicle's seat belts. Some seating positions may have a top tether anchorage but no lower anchorages. In these seating positions, the seat belt must be used with the top tether anchorage to install the child restraint. Please see the following table for more information.