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There are many confusing options available to you when looking for baby car seats UK wide. First you need to know the different types of seat, what is best for the newborn, what type of fittings there are and when you need to change seats.

For newborns, rear-facing baby car seats, UK or worldwide, are the recommended option. For doubters, a rear-facing seat is not a waste of money. Just watch one of the crash test dummy videos as this will illustrate why they are so important for newborns. This type of seat will provide much better protection for the baby’s head, spine and neck than any forward-facing seat. You should try and keep your child in this type of seat as long as possible. There are often two Group 0 sizes; one is suited for weights up to 10 kgs and will last up to 6 or 9 months, or the Group 0+ for babies up to 13kg from birth to 12 or 15 months. If there is an airbag on the passenger side, never put a rear-facing seat in the front.

You do not always need to buy a new seat as you can now get seats that simply flip from rear to forward-facing and can accommodate a child up to 18 kgs. The child should be kept rear-facing until their head is one inch off the top of the seat structure, the weight for that particular seat is reached, or until the child is at least two years of age.

Group 1 seats such as the Britax Duo Plus ISOFIX, are forward-facing and a suitable for small children from 9kgs to 18kgs. The child will be more upright, but protected from slipping down by the 5-point harness that fixes between the childs legs. This type of seat is usually fitted with 5-point harness as these give the most protection and prevents excessive movement. This is because this type of harness secures the child tightly and, in the event of a serious collision will prevent excessive movement that could adversely affect the child.

The seat will either fix onto a fitted base (especially if it is part of a multi-part child travel system), be secured via the adult seat belt or preferably, using an ISOFIX fitting. The latter is reported to be one of the safest, if not the safest way to secure a seat in position. This is because it eliminates human error by simply requiring you to push and click the seat into a rigid fitting that is now standardised in new cars. If your car is pre 2006, check first before you buy.

Discover more about baby car seats UK, and to view a crash-test dummy video in support of rear-facing car seats, visit www.britaxduoplusisofix.com

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