Childrens and Baby Car Seats

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Buying your childrens / baby car seat

The seats in your car are not designed for babies or children, so for your child's safety, you are legally required to have a child car seat for children under 12 years old or 135cm in height from 18 September 2006. It's not safe for them to be secured using just an adult seat belt until they are big enough for it to fit properly.

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.

Group

Child's weight

Approx age of child

0

birth to 10kg/22lbs

birth to 6-9 months

0+

birth to 13kg/29lbs

birth to 12-15 months

0+ and 1

birth to 18kgs/40lb

birth to 4 years

1

9-18kg/20-40lb

9 months to 4 years

1 and 2

9-25 kg/20-55lb

9 months to 6 years

2

15-25kg/33-55lb

4 to 6 years

1, 2 and 3

9-36kg/20-79lbs

9 months to 11 years

2 and 3

15-36kg/48-79lbs

4 to 11+ years

Some car seats span more than one group which means that they are manufactured to take a heavier weight, giving them a longer life.

Baby Car Seat Group 0+ (0-13kg)
These baby car seat group 0+ are designed for newborns up to around 13kg. They are designed as 'rear facing', seat in the back of the car.

Car seat Group 0+1 birth to 18kg birth to approximately 4 years
A combination seat designed to be both rearward facing for babies up to 13kg, then forward facing for children between 9-18kg.