Different Ages Groups and Child Restraints
Child restraints are designed to match a child’s height and weight. When you buy a restraint you need to consider:
- The size and weight of your child.
- If the restraint will fit in your vehicle.
The child should be kept in the most appropriate restraint suitable for his or her size and age and only be moved to the next category of restraint when he or she no longer physically fits.
- Infant: Birth-1 Year
Never carry your child in your arms or share your seat belt with your child. In a crash you won't be able to hold on to your child. He or she may be thrown around the vehicle or thrown out of the vehicle. The safest way for an infant to travel in a vehicle is in the rear facing position. A rear-facing child restraint system (sometimes called an “infant car seat”) provides the best protection for infants until they are 1 year of age. Keep them in this position for as long as possible and only move them to a forward facing child seat when they no longer fit in the rear facing position. - Children aged 1–4 years
The bone-forming process is not complete until the age of 6 or 7 years, and throughout childhood a child’s skull remains less strong than that of an adult. A restraint system needs to limit forward head movement in a frontal impact and provide protection from intrusion in a side impact. A child restraint should therefore distribute the crash forces over as wide an area as possible. Belts and harnesses need to fit well and be properly positioned as designed by the manufacturer.
The restraint system should also provide protection from contact with the vehicle interior in both front and side impacts. The best type of child restraint for young children is the child safety seat. The integral harness secures the child and spreads the crash forces over a wide area. This seat will last them until either their weight exceeds 18 kg or they grow too tall for the height of the adjustable harness. - Children aged 4–6 years
Booster seats are best used only when a child has outgrown a safety seat. They are designed for weights from 15 kg to 25 kg. Children should continue to ride in a booster seat until the lap and diagonal belts in the car fit properly, typically when they are approximately 145 centimetres (cm) tall. Booster seats raise the seating position of the child so that the adult seat-belt lies properly across the chest, crossing diagonally at the child's shoulder rather than the neck, and low across the pelvis. If the adult belt is too high across the stomach, in a crash serious internal injury could result, or the child could submarine under the seat-belt. The booster seat has a back and can provide some protection in a side impact. - Children aged 6–11 years
A booster seat can improve the seat belt fit when your child is too big for a forward facing child seat and too small for an adult belt. As a general guide, buy a rigid booster seat with a back, side wings and a sash guide to keep the seat belt in place.
Booster cushions without backs are designed for weights from 22 kg to 36 kg, but manufacturers are now producing booster cushions with backs that cover the full 15 kg to 36 kg range. Shield booster seats, which have a plastic shield in front of the child, offer less protection and should not be used.
It should also be noted that although children are best protected when secured in age appropriate child restraints, if such restraints are not available, it is still better to use an adult seat-belt on the child than leave the child unrestrained on the back seat.
Once your child’s eyes are level with the top of the back seat of the car or the child is approximately 26kg or over, they may use a seat belt. The seat belt, however, must fit your child correctly; ie the lap belt is low over the bony part of the hips (not the stomach) and the sash does not touch their face or neck when all slack is removed.
