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How
to choose a car seat
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From 15kg to 36kg (approximately 4 years to 12 years)
High back booster seats raise your child to the correct height for an adult seat belt, as well as providing vital protection in a car crash. Some high back booster seats are designed to be converted into a booster cushion by detaching the back, although you should always check the manufacturers advice about when and how to do this. However, at Babyworld we would strongly advise you not to remove the back of the booster seat. By removing the back, you are decreasing the safety of your child in a crash situation by an immeasurable amount, and so we cannot see any advantage that would possibly outweigh this.
Booster seats with high backs and side wings help to prevent injury in a side impact, providing essential protection for your child. Once the back is removed, this essential protection is no longer there, leaving your child at a severe risk of injury, or even death, if a crash occurs. The back also ensures a safer and better fit for the seat belt, again increasing the protection of your child. On several booster seats, the height of the side wings can be altered as the child grows. Booster seats are quick and easy to move around the car, or from car to car.
Click here to view our range of high back booster cushions in the Babyworld shop
From 22kg to 36kg (approximately 6 years to 12 years)
Ultimately, the only advantage of a booster seat is that it raises your child to the appropriate height for an adult seat belt. However, in a crash situation a booster cushion without a high back or side wings provides a very limited amount of protection for your child. At Babyworld we have actually stopped selling booster cushions altogether, and would strongly advise you to purchase a booster seat with a high back in order to secure the safety of your child when travelling in the car.
Whilst high back booster seats cost slightly more than a booster cushion, the difference is minimal. Over the seven-year period that your child will use the seat, the cost is pittance compared to the safety of your child. Before purchasing any booster seat or booster cushion, it is essential to ensure that your child is within the correct weight range. As booster seats and booster cushions do not have an integral harness, it is important that the seat belt is correctly adjusted to ensure a safe and secure fit.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents provides three key considerations when using a child booster seat or booster cushion:
Safety: Whilst booster seats and booster cushions can be
used in the front or the rear of the car, it is much safer in the rear, and
should not be used in the front if the car is fitted with a passenger airbag.
By law, children aged 3 and above until they reach either their 12th birthday
or 135cm in height, MUST use a securely fitted and appropriate child seat. (For
further information, please see our section Child
Car Seats and The Law).
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