How do I choose the right car seat?

How Do I Choose The Right Car Seat?

We get asked this question a lot here at Cozy N Safe. We know that it can be a bit of a daunting task choosing the right car seat for you and your little one. You want them to be as safe and comfortable as possible. Here is our handy quick guide of what you need to know when looking for car seats.

What is the law?

By law each and every child must be properly secured in an appropriate child restraint until they are either 135cm or 12 years old which ever one comes first. This includes leaving the hospital after your baby is born. Whether it is an infant carrier with a car seat base or a dedicated car seat your baby must be properly secured. The child restraints can either be baby car seats, high backed booster seats, booster seats or a combination of them. To read more on the law of car seats click here https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

What are the Groups?

The groups of the car seat is how you determine which baby car seat is suitable for your child.  Depending on your families needs you might choose a combination seat such as a group 1/2/3. This will grow with your child, moving through the groups from one to the next. These are usually heavier by design so may not be great if you are changing the seat from car to car. The single stage car seats such as a group 3 high backed booster seat will usually be lighter and more suited for families on the go and swapping the booster seat from car to car.  More information on car seat groups can be found here https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types-of-seat/

Rear or Forward Facing

The latest guidelines are kids should rear face for as long as possible. By Law children must face rearwards until they are over 15 months (i-Size regulations) or until they exceed 9kg (ECE weight based regulations).

Different Regulations

There are currently two pieces of regulations that infant car seats need to abide by. Either i-Size regulations or the ECE R44.04 regulations. The i-Size regulations are based on height and the ECE R44.04 regulations are based on your child’s weight. When buying an i-Size seat they will usually have i-Size in their title and you must choose the correct car seat for your child’s height. When buying an ECE R44.04 seat the infant car seats are based on weight and are categorized by groups. More information can be found here https://www.nct.org.uk

Why Choose Cozy N Safe?

Here at Cozy N Safe we have a saying, two simple little words, “without compromise”. We believe this saying so much it’s our tag line for the business. This ethos is in our DNA and applies to every stage of the company. From development to manufacturing and sales. We do everything without compromising at all. This means that our seats are as safe and comfortable as possible. You can view our entire car seat range here.