Child Car Seat Safety

This is a very-useful-actually guest post from Sainsbury's Bank. I wasn't compensated directly for publishing this post, but I have been given a Sainsbury's gift card as a thank you for joining their Family Blogger Network.

Child Car Seat Safety

As a driver, if you have a passenger aged 12 years or under, or shorter than 135cm, it is your responsibility to make sure they’re correctly restrained in an appropriate car seat or booster. Failure to do so will put your child passenger in danger. You could also be fined up to £500, possibly affecting your car insurance premiums.

With this in mind, here’s our guide to child car seats.

Choosing the right one

Here is a brief rundown on the different child car seat groups.

Group 0 and 0+ (rear-facing baby seats): For babies up to 10kg (22lbs), which is roughly from birth to 6-9 months of age.


Group 0+ seats are also for newborns, but last until your child is 13kg (29lbs), or about 15 months old. These rear-facing seats give added protection to a baby’s neck, head and spine.

Group 1 (forward-facing child seats): For children weighing 9-18kg (20-40lbs), which is about 9 months to 4 years old. They have a harness and high sides, which reduce the risk of injury during a collision.

Group 2-3 (booster seats and cushions): For children approximately 4-6 years old, weighing 15-25kg (33-55lbs). They usually come with a detachable back, which leaves you with just a booster cushion.

Group 3 seats are for children of 6-11 years, from 22-36kg (48-79lbs).

To restrain a child in a Group 2-3 seat, use an adult seatbelt.

Some seats convert from one group to another, making them good value for money.

Things to consider

Check the seat has an ‘E’ mark, showing it meets the United Nations standard Regulation 44.03 or 44.04.

If your car seat will be taken out of your vehicle regularly (eg: to transfer it to another car) make sure it’s light enough to make it viable.

Some car seats recline, and if you’re planning to do many long journeys this could help your child to sleep.

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