Child car seat safety: What you need to know

How to fit a child seat safely every time

The first time you fit a child seat, it can be quite daunting, but as with anything, practice makes perfect. However, sometimes this can also lead to complacency, so even if you're an experienced parent, it's worth double checking what you're doing is right.

1. Familiarise yourself with the seat

This sounds simple, but it's all to easy to let someone else fit the seat and never have to worry about it, especially if your car seat is going to be used in the same car all the time. But what happens if you breakdown or the seat needs to be refitted? Read the instructions first but we can't recommend enough simply having a play with the seat to find out exactly what the various buttons do and how you fit - and release it.

2. Always check the Isofix connectors

Most Isofix connectors have a green indicator to show you they are fitted correctly. Check these every time, just to be sure. We strongly recommend that any car seat you buy is fitted with Isofix. If you don't know, Isofix simply means that the seat has clips that lock onto anchors in the base of the seats.

>> Read more about Isofix

These anchor points are actually part of the body structure, meaning the seat will stay secure in the event of an accident. The vast majority of seats on sale have Isofix while most cars since 2001 have Isofix mounts built in. 

3. Front seat or back?

While the law says children can sit in the front, the safest place for children under 12 remains the rear seats. If you do have to have a child in the front (for instance if you only have a two seater car), move the seat as far back as you can. 

4. Remember airbags

You MUST deactivate the airbags if you are fitting a rearward facing child seat in the front of a car. This is usually straightforward to do using the ignition key in a switch (which is often in the glovebox). You will know it's off as a warning light will show.

5. Check the harness

We've all been there when your little (or not so) one decides they really don't want to go in their car seat. While it's stressful when they do the plank and you're getting wet from a torrential downpour, you still have to make sure their are strapped in properly. There's no point in having a safe car seat if your child isn't strapped in correctly. The 'two-finger' test is a well known method but experts say the pinch test is much safer. 

To do this, place your fingers on the harness, around the child’s collarbone area. Try to pinch the harness strap and if you can get a good pinch between your fingers, the harness is not tight enough and needs adjusting. Do this until you can’t get the strap to pinch between your fingers. 

For forward facing seats, the harness should be on the shoulder or just below it. For forward facing, the harness should be on the shoulder or about 2cm above it.

6. Watch the belt buckles

It's important to be aware of 'buckle crunch'. This is where the seat belt buckle is bent on or against the child seat. The issue here is that in the event of a collision, the impact could put pressure on the buckle, causing it to break or release.

7. Take off winter coats

One many parents will have been guilty of is leaving winter coats or similar on kids, especially when you're 'just going around the corner'. But what a child is wearing has a big affect on their safety. A thick coat means the harness may not be tight enough on their body - it needs to be as close to the skin as possible to give the best protection in an accident.

8. Be careful with head restraints

Head rests (or head restraints to give them their proper name) are more than just a nuisance when fitting a child seat, they can be dangerous. Never use the head restraint to help secure a child seat - it can create movement and a gap between the child seat and the vehicle seat. The best way is to remove them completely.

9. Mind where seatbelts go 

If you have an older child who is now using the vehicle seatbelt instead of a harness, it's important to make sure it is used correctly. The belt should go across the top of their thighs, diagonally across their chest and over the shoulder - not across the neck. Make sure it follows the guides on the seat.

10. Check the foot support

Some car seats come with a leg support, designed to give the seat more stability in the event of an accident. However, this is only effective if the support is locked in place and solid against the floor. These sorts of seats can't be used if you have a car with underfloor storage in the back seats (the Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer for example), unless there's an available insert for it.

Do: Buy a brand new seat

It’s imperative that you buy a new child seat, at whatever stage you're buying one – as in, whether buying for a new born or a much older child. Even if a seat looks brand new and undamaged, you can’t be certain that it’s never been involved in an accident, and therefore weakened. For that reason, a shop fresh seat is paramount.

Don't: Go for the cheapest seat

While it’s certainly not an imperative to buy the most expensive child seat you can find, it’s very important that you buy from a trusted well-established brand. Any major retailer will only sell car seats that meet minimum safety requirements, and you should never buy a child seat sight unseen – from an unknown eBay retailer, for example.

Do: Make sure you have the right size seat

Car seats are categorised into six basic groups (not including i-Size) ranging from 0-3 and the age of your child is just a guide - as you know, children come in all shapes and sizes. If you think your child is outgrowing his or her seat, it's time to check the size and weight guidelines and consider a new one.

Don't: get the wrong sort of seat for your car

You might have a seat as safe as Kim Jong-Un’s, but it’s no good if it doesn’t fit your particular car. You can use our Car Seat Chooser to find what seats are compatible with your car. Otherwise, the seat could be seriously compromised in the event of a crash.

Do: Learn how to fit your seat correctly - every time

There are generally two ways to fit a child seat: securing it with the adult seatbelt, or Isofix. Using the former is perfectly safe, though Isofix is generally considered better because once there’s less chance of fitting the seat incorrectly and it locks the seat in place in a way a belt cannot - that's why we always recommend it.

Don't: make any assumptions - get a demonstration

More than anything else it’s imperative that the seat is fitted correctly, so we’d advise having a fitment demonstration by the retailer you bought your seat from. Even something as simple as a slightly twisted belt can dramatically reduce the protection that a seat provides in a crash, so take the time to have an expert show you how to fit the child seat properly – including Isofix connectors.

Do: think about how the seat will be used

Will the seat stay permanently in place in your car? Modern life means that’s unlikely – the seat is probably going into your second family car, or grandma or grandad’s. If, for whatever reason, your child seat is likely to be used in other cars, you need to make sure it’s suitable for those cars too.

Don’t: use a seat again after a collision - however minor...

Maybe this sounds excessive, but even a seemingly minor prang can in some circumstances cause unseen damage to a child seat. Even a slight weakness could be problematic in the case of a more forceful collision later, so better safe than sorry.

Do: consider yourself

That’s right, not only do you have to consider the basics like how heavy your child is, and whether the seat will fit into your car, you need to think about how tall and strong you are. It’s no good buying a seat so bulky you can barely lift it, if you’re going to be lifting it from car to car regularly. Similarly, if you’re tall and the child seat will be behind you, you might be surprised to find that some seats require pushing the driver’s seat further forwards than you’re comfy with.

Don't: listen to anyone else

…apart from us, of course. Or other experts. What we mean by this is, don’t be swayed by the opinions of others who may be encouraging you to take a more relaxed approach to child seats – moving up a group too early, for example, or not moving up at all. Indeed, there’ll come a time when you have to resist even your own kids, when they’re telling you they no longer need a child seat. Usually because they’ve seen one of their mates without a child seat. It will happen.