Child car seat reviews: How to fit child car seats
Fitting a child car seat: getting started
- Have at least one go at installing the child car seat before purchasing, preferably with help from an expert.
- Examine the child car seat and thoroughly read the instructions before taking it to your car.
- Always follow the child car seat manufacturer’s instructions and keep them with the child car seat.
- Carry children in a rear car seat if you can.
- Never fit a rear-facing child car seat in front of an active airbag. If it goes off, the force could kill your child.
- The child car seat should have minimal forward or sideways movement. When you open the buckle of the adult belt, the child car seat should spring upward slightly.
- Only the seat belt webbing should touch the child car seat's frame, not the buckle. Otherwise pressure on the buckle could make it fail, meaning your child won’t be securely restrained in an emergency situation.
- Never modify a child car seat in any way.
Child car seats: expert help
Installing a child car seat for the first time is rarely straightforward and it seems even trickier once you get home. We visited Bromley, in Kent, where Child Car Seat Education Road Safety Officer, Val Fuller, demonstrated how the council’s Child Car Seat Centre advises parents and retailers.
‘It’s important to make sure every seat is correctly installed. There should be no movement,’ said Val. ‘The advice we offer to parents in the Child Car Seat Centre and our Transport for London-funded training scheme for retailers are aimed at improving safety for all children travelling in the area.’
When we’ve looked at retailer advice in the past, we’ve found it is a bit of a lottery, whether you get good advice on child car seats or not. We sat in on a training session at retailer Baby Baby, in West Wickham. It was training staff to a basic level of level of competence to advise about weight groups, moving baby from one stage to the next, airbags, harness adjustment, Isofix and the law. Most child car seat retailers in Bromley display certificates, so you can ask for the qualified person in each store.
Both Bromley and Essex, which also has a Child Car Seat Centre, welcome all parents. But if you don’t live nearby, contact your own local authority. Most offer advice, either from road safety officers or suitably trained traffic police officers.
Which? says
To improve the chances of all children in crashes, we’d like to see child car seat schemes like Bromley’s rolled out across the country.
Once the child car seat is in your car
- Check the seat belt in your car is long enough to secure the child car seat.
- Check you can feed the seat belt through the slits in the child car seat without any obstructions.
- Check the shape of the car child seat fits neatly with the shape of the car seat. For some seats, this may require you to remove the car’s head restraint.
- Place your child in the child seat and try to strap them in securely.
- Check the child car seat's harness can be secured and adjusted easily.
- Check the child car seat leaves enough space for your child to stretch their legs.
- Replace your child car seat(s) after any accident which results in ANY damage to your car, however slight.