A guide to car seat selection.

Which car seat should I hire?

An appropriate child restraint is simply one which is suitable for your child's age, weight and size.

Child restraints are divided according to the weight of the children for whom they are suitable. These correspond to different age groups, but it is the weight of the child that is important.

Fitting car seats.

It's safer to fit child seats in the rear, but they can be fitted in the front. Never fit a rearward-facing baby seat in the front if the airbag is enabled. If it is discharged it would strike the seat with considerable force.

 

Make sure the seatbelt passes through the guides on the child seat. Push your weight into the child seat as you tighten the seat belt to make sure the child seat is securely held. There should be no slack in the seat belt.

Check that the seatbelt buckle is not resting on the child seat frame. ('buckle crunch').

 

Using car seats.

Your child must legally use the child seat for every single journey in Spain, no matter how short.

  • Take time to get the child comfortably strapped in.
  • Make sure the seat's harness is correctly adjusted for your child. It should be quite tight, so that only one or two fingers can fit between the child's chest and harness.
  • Clothing can affect how snugly the harness fits, so check it every journey.
  • The harness buckle should not rest over the child's tummy.

If you are using a booster seat or cushion, the adult seatbelt restrains both the child and the seat or cushion. Make sure that:

  • the belt is worn as tight as possible
  • the lap belt goes over the pelvic region (from hip-bone to hip-bone), not the stomach
  • the diagonal strap rests on the child's shoulder, not the neck (some seats have a clip to help position the belt).
  • Never tuck the seatbelt under the child's arm or behind their back.

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***"Baby Finley, his Mum and Dad, Gran and Grandad would like to say a BIG thank you for all of the nice equipment that a baby needs for his two week stay in Spain. The quality of the items, service and all the friendly help we received were excellent. Thank you again from all the family. (And XXX from Finley)" Mr & Mrs. Armstrong - Los Garcias.***