This time of the year people are taking their children out for day trips and holidays.  In order to keep your children safe whilst you are on the road, we are looking at what the law says about child car seats and the requirements you need to meet.

When do you need to use a child car seat or booster seater?
Children must normally us a child car seat until they are 12 years old or 135 cm tall, whichever comes first.  Only EU-approved child car seats can be used in the UK, they will have a label showing a capital E in a circle.

There is a variety of child car seats available dependent on your child’s height or weight.

Height-based car seats
Also known as ‘i-Size’ seat. When placing those they must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old after that a forward-facing car seat can be used.  Make sure that the seat is suitable for the height of your

Weight-based car
Weight-based car seats must be rear facing until your child weighs more than 9kg.

After that it depends on weight:

9kg to 18kg  – rear or forward-facing baby seat
15kg to 25kg – rear or forward-facing child seat (booster seat)
Over 22kg – booster  cushion

How to fit a child car seat?
Only use a child car seat if your car’s seat belt has a diagonal strap – unless the car seat is specifically designed for use with a lap seat belt. It is also important to deactivate any front airbags before fitting a rear-facing baby seat in a front seat.

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