Ford Windstar (2003 year). Manual — part 29

or younger and who weigh 18 kg [40 lbs] or less) ride in your vehicle,
you must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Check
your local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements
regarding the safety of children in your vehicle. When possible, always
place children under age 12 in the rear seat of your vehicle. Accident
statistics suggest that children are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seating position.

Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap while the
vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the child from

injury in a collision.

Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any infant or
child restraint you might use.

Children and safety belts

If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat. Children
who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your child safety
seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.

Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.

If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.

Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in
your vehicle.

Child booster seats

Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt
will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury.

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.

Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees

Seating and Safety Restraints

118

bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better
and more comfortably for growing children.

When children should use booster seats

Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lbs (about 8 to 12 years old).

Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
• Can the child sit all the way back

against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the
edge of the seat without
slouching?

• Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
• Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

Types of booster seats

There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
• Those that are backless.

If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
may place your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, move the
backless booster to another
seating position with a higher seat back and lap/shoulder belts.

Seating and Safety Restraints

119

• Those with a high back.

If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.

Both can be used in any vehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lbs.

The shoulder belt should cross the chest, resting snugly on the center of
the shoulder. The lap belt should rest low and snug across the hips,
never up high across the stomach.

If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this
condition.

The importance of shoulder belts

Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s
head hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should
never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a booster
seat with lap/shoulder belts in the back seat- the safest place for children
to ride.

Follow all instructions provided by the manufacturer of the
booster seat.

Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or behind the
back because it eliminates the protection for the upper part of

the body and may increase the risk of injury or death in a collision.

Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a child. They can
slide around and increase the likelihood of injury or death in a

collision.

Seating and Safety Restraints

120

SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN

Child and infant or child safety seats

Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions 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.

When installing a child safety seat:
• Review and follow the information

presented in the Air Bag
Supplemental Restraint System
section in this chapter.

• Use the correct safety belt buckle

for that seating position.

• Insert the belt tongue into the

proper buckle until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure
the tongue is securely fastened in
the buckle.

• Keep the buckle release button

pointing up and away from the
safety seat, with the tongue
between the child seat and the
release button, to prevent
accidental unbuckling.

• Place seat back in upright position.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position which is capable

Seating and Safety Restraints

121