Which Car Seat Do I Use For My Child?

0 - 6 Months of age:

  • Your baby must use a rearward facing child car seat that is properly fitted to the vehicle and adjusted to fit their body correctly.
  • Your baby must not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has a back row or rows of seats.

Best practice recommendations

  • Keep your baby in a rearward facing child car seat until they have reached the maximum size limits.
  • Why? Infants have relatively large heads and weak necks which put them at particularly high risk of serious injuries. Rearward facing child car seats provide the required head and neck support that a child needs.

 

 

 

 

 

6 Months - 4 years of age:

  • Your child must use either a rearward facing child car seat OR a forward facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness, that is properly fitted to the vehicle and adjusted to fit the child’s body correctly.
  • Your child must not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has a back row or rows of seats.

Best practice recommendations

  • Infants are safest if they stay in their rearward facing child car seat as long as they still fit in it.
  • Once your child is too tall for the rearward facing child car seat they should use a forward facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness as long as they still fit in it.

 

4 – 7 Years of age:

  • Your child must use either a forward facing child restraint with inbuilt harness OR a booster seat with a properly fastened and adjusted seatbelt.
  • Your child should not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has a back row or rows of seats unless all the other back seats are occupied by children who are also under 7 years of age.

Best practice recommendations

  • Keep your child in a child car seat until they reach the maximum size limit of the car seat.

Over 7 years of age:

  • Your child must use a forward facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness, a booster seat with a properly fastened and adjusted adult seatbelt OR an adult seatbelt depending on their size.

Best practice recommendations

  • Children should stay in child car seats as long as they still fit.

When is my child ready for an adult seatbelt?

Use the 5 step test to see if your child is ready to move into an adult seatbelt

  1. Can the child sit with their back against the vehicle seat back?
  2. Do the child’s knees bend in front of the edge of the seat?
  3. Does the sash belt sit low across the middle of the shoulders?
  4. Is the lap belt sitting low across the hips touching the thighs?
  5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on understanding which car seat is most appropriate for your child click here. Information is available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Nepali, Tamil, Kurdish, Urdu and English.