Selecting A Child Seat - Honda 2004 Civic Si Owner's Manual

Selecting a Child Seat

When buying a child seat, you need
to choose between a conventional
child seat, or one designed for use
with the Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) system.
Conventional child seats must be
secured to a vehicle with a seat belt,
whereas LATCH-compatible seats
are secured by attaching the seat to
hardware built into the two outer
rear seats.
Since LATCH-compatible child seats
are easier to install and reduce the
possibility of improper installation,
we recommend selecting this style.
We also recommend selecting a
LATCH-compatible seat with a rigid,
rather than a flexible, anchor (see
page 39 ).
36
Driver and Passenger Safety
In seating positions and vehicles not
equipped with LATCH, a LATCH-
compatible child seat can be installed
using a seat belt.
Whatever type of seat you choose, to
provide proper protection, a child
seat should meet three
requirements:
1. The child seat should meet U.S. or
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Look for FMVSS
Standard 213.
213 or CMVSS 213 on the box.
2. The child seat should be of the
proper type and size to fit the child.
Rear-facing for infants, forward-
facing for small children.
3. The child seat should fit the
vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Before purchasing a conventional
child seat, or using a previously
purchased one, we recommend that
you test the seat in the specific
vehicle seating position, or positions,
where the seat will be used.