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Child Car Seats

We know that choosing, buying and fitting a car seat can be overwhelming, so we’ve put together some simple tips and advice to help you navigate through this.

Child car seats are vitally important to keep children safe in a vehicle, but it’s important to know how to use them correctly. Watch our video, where we focus on 2 elements: ensuring the car seat is fitted correctly, and ensuring the child is fitted correctly.

Top Tips

  • Keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible. The law states that you must remain rear facing until at least 15 months old, however rear facing seats offer better protection for the head and neck. Extended rear facing seats allow children to rear face for longer, usually up to around 4 years of age, or in some cases 6 years. One of the reasons that parents wish to move their child to be forward facing is so that the child can see them. A way to overcome this, is to use a mirror on the headrest.
  • If a child is rear facing in the front passenger seat, the passenger airbag(s) must be deactivated.
  • Make sure that the car seat that you’re going to be using is compatible with your car. (E.g. if using Isofix, your vehicle must have Isofix points.)
  • Make sure the seat is fitted correctly with the manufacturer’s instructions. Many seats have a QR code that you can scan to find these.
  • For car seats that have a handle, in most cases the handle also has a safety function and should be kept upright in the car. Check the manufacturers instructions for your seat.
  • Many car seats have a flap at the side, as shown in the video above. This should be out when the seat is in use, as it reduces the gap between the seat and the door in the result of a collision.
  • In the event of a collision, any toys or loose items will become much heavier than their actual weight, so try to stick to soft toys.
  • Ensure the seat is the correct size for the child. Height and weight are more important than age. Don’t be in a rush to move them up to next size car seat, wait until they have reached the maximum height or weight.
  • Ensure the harness is at the correct height for the child. This is on or just below the shoulder (no more than 2cm) for a child in a rear facing seat, and on or just above the shoulder (no more than 2cm) in a forward facing seat.
  • Make sure the straps on the harness are not twisted, and ensure the harness is fitted tightly enough. The way to ensure it is tight enough is to perform the pinch test. If you can pinch the straps with your 2 fingers, then the straps are too loose.
  • Remove the child’s coat and avoid baggy/thick clothes, as these will prevent the harness from fitting tightly enough.
  • Remember that if a car seat has been involved in a collision, then it is no longer safe to use, and will need replacing.
  • Children over the age of 12 years, or taller than  135cm must wear a vehicle seatbelt.

Further information

See the magazine below for further advice and information.