Choosing the Right Child Car Seat

By Rebecca Needham Road Safety Officer (England) Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)

A car seat is probably one of the most important purchases you will make for your child, but with so many types and models of car seat on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start and which one to choose

To ensure that your child is travelling safely, it is vital to choose a seat that is suitable for the weight or height of your child. You will also need to ensure that the seat is compatible with your vehicle, as not all seats fit all vehicles. Our advice is to always check the manufacturer’s website to ensure that the seat is compatible with your vehicle and to visit a reputable retailer with trained child car seat fitters. In many cases, staff will be able to help you to correctly fit the seat in your vehicle. Remember, if the seat will be used in other vehicles, you will need to ensure that it is compatible with all of the vehicles that it will be used in. For more information, you can visit our child car seat fitting and compatibility hub: childcarseats.org. uk/choosing-using/child-car-seat-fitting-andcompatibility

For a child car seat to be legally used in the UK, it will need to meet a set safety standard which will be shown by the bright orange label on the seat. It will either show that the seat conforms to the older testing regulations by displaying R44, or

the newer regulation which includes a side impact test and will display R129. Before buying we recommend that you have the following information to hand:  What is the child’s weight?  What is the child’s height?  What is the child’s age?  What vehicle(s) will the seat be used in?  Does the vehicle(s) the seat will be used in have ISOFIX points? These are the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars.  Does the vehicle(s) the seat will be used in have underfloor storage? In many cases, child car seats with an ISOFIX base and support foot will be unsuitable for your vehicle. Once you have chosen a child car seat, it is vital to make sure that it is correctly fitted. Although it is very uncommon for parents to intentionally put their child at risk, surprisingly, up to 70% of children are using incorrectly fitted car seats. In some cases, this can be because the seat is not compatible with the vehicle or the child is outside of the seat weight or height limit.

However, fortunately, many are minor faults that can be easily corrected. Common faults include:  Seatbelt incorrectly routed – When using a rearward facing car seat, the vehicle seatbelt needs to be routed through the blue guides, whilst on forward facing seats they go through the red guides. Make sure you are using the correct guides on combination seats that have both rear and forward facing capability.  Buckle crunch – the seatbelt buckle should be level with or lower than the car seat, it should not be bent and under pressure as in the event of a collision it might pull apart.  The child is not held securely in the seat –

Children up to 18kg will normally be held in the seat by an internal harness. The shoulder straps should be adjusted so that they are level with the child’s shoulders, with the crotch strap below the soft tummy area. The straps must be tight so that you can just get your index and middle fingers between the strap and the child’s chest.  A rear facing seat can’t be used in the front with an activated airbag For further information www.childcarseats.org.uk or if you have a specific question RoSPA help desk can be contacted on 0121 248 2130 or help@rospa.com

Frost

Grey

THE SAFEST PLACE FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE

Britax Römer introduce the BABY SAFE iSENSE that is suitable for use from 40 – 83 cm (≈ 15 months | 13 kg) and is tested to the highest safety standard i-SIZE.

The BABY SAFE iSENSE is equipped with three different sets of smart lights to simplify everyday life. The installation lights turn on automatically when needed and make it even easier to install the infant carrier on the base or a stroller. The safety lights provide visibility and sight when walking through poorly lit areas. And the interior ambient lights allow your baby to see and to be seen. With the new-born insert and five-point harness baby is always safe and protected.

ĥ Smart Lighting inside the seat allows parent to see baby and for baby to see parent ĥ Plus, the Smart Lighting on the outside helps to see where parent is going and makes popping the seat into the car easier at night or in dimly lit areas ĥ New-born Insert gives extra support to small babies ĥ Five-point harness protects baby from all directions of impact ĥ Lie-flat technology allowing comfort and safety for sleeping baby ĥ 90-degree rotation when used with the

FLEX BASE iSENSE makes placing the baby in and out of the seat easy ĥ Easy adjustable headrest and harness for growing baby ĥ Quick-remove cover for those messy spills ĥ Sun canopy which offers protection from the sun and wind in the car or on the pushchair ĥ Compatible with most pushchairs ĥ Available colours, Space Black,

Frost Grey and Indigo Blue

Golden

Cognac

THE SAFEST PLACE FOR GROWING DREAMS

Britax Römer have launched the new generation KIDFIX i-SIZE which has been developed in partnership with leading car manufacturers, to give the ultimate car travel safety to your child.

The KIDFIX i-SIZE can be used from 100 – 150 cm (approximately 3.5 – 12 years and has been designed and approved to the new i-Size standard, making it our safest KIDFIX* to date. Every feature on the seat has been developed with one thing in mind – maximum protection. The proven technologies of XP-PAD, SICT and SecureGuard, now combined with the redesigned seating area for optimum crash performance, offer all-round protection.

ĥ The safest KIDFIX to date* ĥ Developed in partnership with leading car manufacturers ĥ XP-PAD absorbs up to 30% energy in frontal impact* ĥ SICT reduces the side impact forces by up to 40%* ĥ SecureGuard reduces abdominal forces by up to 35%* ĥ The generously padded soft fabric covers and carefully placed air ventilation holes on the shell ensure child travels in comfort for longer ĥ Helpful markings at the back of the headrest guide parents to find the right headrest height every single time when they change the seat between cars or transport multiple children in the same seat

* Britax Römer internal tests and simulations

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Stay Water Safe on Holiday this Summer

Family holidays are a great time to relax and have lots of fun at the swimming pool or beach. For maximum enjoyment it is also important for us all to be water safe, especially abroad, so we’ve teamed up with our friends over at Konfidence for their top water safety tips for parents.

First and foremost, remember young children are attracted to water. Don’t take your eyes off them for even one second if they are near water. Supervision is the key to safety. At the Swimming Pool – Safety Tips  Parents / Guardians should take turns to supervise children who are in the swimming pool.  If the children’s pool is adjacent to the main pool, weak and non-swimmers should be deterred from changing pools or using the dividing walls / features to walk on.  Weak and non-swimmers should not go out of their depth – even when they are using floatation devices.  Do not run around the pool, in case the surface is slippery.  Always swim in pools patrolled by lifeguards.  Use a buoyancy aid or personal floatation device to be safe in and around the water. Konfidence say a big misconception is that parents with children who ‘can’ swim think they don’t need some form of buoyancy aid. “Most children love to play for hours in or at the side the pool – but they get tired. A personal floatation device, such as our Original Konfidence Swim Jacket, gives them enough buoyancy and you the time to reach them if they are in difficulty – it only takes a few seconds for you to take your eye off them, and especially if you are supervising more one than child in the pool. The hi-visibility yellow back on the Jacket also helps greatly.” At the Beach – Safety Tips  Familiarise yourself with the beach flags. On the continent a ‘Red for Danger’ or ‘Yellow for

Caution’ and a ‘Green Safe to Swim’ flag system is used, but often a bit on the liberal side. It’s better to be safe and swim only when the

‘Green’ flag is showing.  Be aware of hazards – waves, tides, rip currents.  Don’t take lilos and other inflatables into the water – they can blow you out to sea and they may ‘pop’.  At the beach, never play or swim near rocks, or near boats or other crafts.  Always swim parallel to the shore rather than out to sea – and stay within your depth.  Make sure there is an adult with a child in the sea and someone on shore who knows you are swimming.  Never leave a child alone on the beach.

And finally, explain and reiterate the four water safety rules to children:

❶Never Swim Alone

❷Do not dive into unknown bodies of water ❸ Do not push or jump on others ❹ Learn and teach them where to get help in case of an emergency Most of all have lots of family fun on your holiday this summer! To find out more about Konfidence, visit www.konfidence.co.uk. To claim a 10% discount, use code TT202000 until 30.09.21