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Child seats and child restraints

New EU child safety protection laws have come into force making it compulsory for all children to travel in the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion.

The new law states that:

  • Where safety belts have been fitted they must be worn
  • Children under 3 years of age must not travel in a car or goods vehicle (other than a taxi) unless restrained in the correct child seat
  • Children aged 3 years or over who are under 150cms in height and weighing less than 36 kilograms (i.e. generally children up to 11/12 years old) must use the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion when travelling in cars or goods vehicles
  • Note: 150 centimeters is equivalent to 4ft 11ins or 59ins and 36 kilograms is equivalent to 5st 9lbs or 79lbs.
  • Children over 3 years of age must travel in a rear seat in vehicles not fitted with safety belts
  • Rearward-facing child car seats must NEVER be used in the front passenger seat of cars with an active airbag
  • Child car seats must be in accordance with EU or United Nations- Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) standards
  • Drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure passengers aged under 17 use the correct seat, booster seat, booster cushion or seatbelt

Ensuring a child is properly restrained in a child car seat can reduce injuries by a factor of 90-95% for rear-facing seats and 60% for forward-facing seats*

*Source: AA Motoring Trust

Rearward-Facing Baby Seat

Rearward-Facing Baby Seat 

Weight
For babies up to 13kgs (29lbs) 

Approximate Age Range
Birth to 12-15 months

Rearward-facing seats provide
greater protection for the baby’s head, neck and spine than forward-facing seats. So, it is best to keep your baby in a rearward-facing seat for as long as possible. Only move them to a forward-facing seat once they have exceeded the maximum weight for the baby seat, or the top of their head is higher than the top of the seat.

 Forward-Facing Child Seat

Forward-Facing Child Seat 

Weight
9-18kgs (20-40lbs)

Approximate Age Range
9 months -4 years

Only move your child to a forward-facing seat once they have exceeded the maximum weight for their rearward-facing seat, or the top of their head is higher than the top of the seat.

 Booster Seat

Booster Seat 

Weight
15-25kgs (33-55lbs)

Approximate Age Range
4-6 years

Some booster seats are designed to be converted into a booster cushion by detaching the back rest.

 Booster Cushion

Booster Cushion 

Weight
22-36kgs (48-79lbs)

Approximate Age Range
6-11/12 years

Booster cushions do not have an integral harness to hold the child in place. The adult seat belt goes around the child and the seat. So it is important that the seat belt is correctly adjusted.