After selecting a proper child seat and a good place to install the seat, there are three main steps in installing the seat:
1. Properly secure the child seat to the vehicle. All child seats must be secured to the vehicle with the lap part of a lap/shoulder belt or with the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system. A child whose seat is not properly secured to the vehicle can be endangered in a crash.
2. Make sure the child seat is firmly secured. After installing a child seat, push and pull the seat forward and from side-to-side to verify that it is secure.
A child seat secured with a seat belt should be installed as firmly as possible. However, it does not need to be ‘‘rock solid.’’ Some side-to-side movement can be expected and should not reduce the child seat’s effectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try installing it in a different seating position, or use a different style of child seat that can be firmly secured.
3. Secure the child in the child seat.
Make sure the child is properly strapped in the child seat according to the child seat maker’s instructions. A child who is not properly secured in a child seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
The following pages provide guidelines on how to properly install a child seat. A forward-facing child seat is used in all examples, but the instructions are the same for rearfacing child seats.