Buying your car seat
Which size is the right size?
You need to know your baby’s weight in kilograms as it
is your child's weight and not age that is the critical factor in deciding
which 'Group' is suitable and safe.
Baby and children’s car seats are manufactured according
to rigorous safety regulations which meet the European Standard R44.03.
The standard divides 8 different designs of car seat into numbered groups,
each of which is suitable for a range of weights as shown in the table,below.
Height-wise, baby's head should be one inch or more below the top
of the car seat when rear-facing. For front-facing seats, the tops of
baby's ears should be below the seat top.
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Group
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Child's weight
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Approx age of child
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0
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birth to 10kg/22lbs
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birth to 6-9 months
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0+
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birth to 13kg/29lbs
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birth to 12-15 months
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0+ and 1
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birth to 18kgs/40lb
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birth to 4 years
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1
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9-18kg/20-40lb
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9 months to 4 years
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1 and 2
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9-25 kg/20-55lb
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9 months to 6 years
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2
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15-25kg/33-55lb
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4 to 6 years
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1, 2 and 3
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9-36kg/20-79lbs
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9 months to 11 years
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2 and 3
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15-36kg/48-79lbs
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4 to 11+ years
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Some car seats span more than one group which means that they are manufactured
to take a heavier weight, giving them a longer life.
What to look for
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- 5 point safety harness which fits snugly - baby and
younger children’s car seats come with an integral, adjustable
safety harness. It needs to fit very snugly over the shoulders to meet
the buckle coming up between the legs.
- One-pull harness - the easier all straps on a car
seat are to adjust, the more likely you are to fit it correctly. Many
harnesses are now designed to adjust by quickly and easily pulling one
single adjuster strap until the harness is a snug fit.
- Tamper-proof buckle - this is coloured red to make
it easy to spot and is easy to release in an emergency by an adult,
but designed to be difficult for young fingers to undo. If your baby
shows interest in touching the buckle be firm and say no from the start.
- Padding - all baby and child car seats should be
well padded for both comfort and added protection. The shell should
be sturdy (though it may be lightweight) and contoured.
- Strap covers - some car seats have padded sleeves
around the harness straps and a padded cushion under the buckle for
extra comfort; if not already fitted, these are available as individual
items from accessory companies.
- Weight - if you're going to be using it with different cars
or carrying your baby in it, a lighter model may be best.
- Seat covers - many car seat covers are removable
for machine washing; most manufacturers also supply spares.
- Choice of positions - forward facing seats (from
9kg up) may have the option to recline or lie flat, which is a bonus
if you want your baby to sleep on longer trips.
- Instructions - some car seat instructions are excellent,
but most are complex; have a look at the instructions in the shop before
buying and ask the retailer to explain anything that isn't clear.
- Installation - most seats need an adult lap and diagonal
belt to secure them, although some forward facing seats can be secured
with just the lap belt in the middle of the back seat, which is the
safest place and useful if you have two or more older children. Some
manufacturers sell fixing kits for child seats which cannot be fitted
using a car’s existing belts - the big advantage of these is that
you can fix the seat in the middle of the back seat. If you need to
buy a fixing kit, choose one made by the manufacturer of your car seat,
if available. If your car has Isofix points you won't need to use the
seatbelts to secure it. However, some isofix seats can still be installed
using the car seat belts which could be useful if you are using the
seat in more than one car.
Where to next?
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