Free car seat checks on ANY car – and 5% Halfords discount code if you need a new child’s car seat.
When my hulking great 16yr old was a weeny boy, car seats were a completely different animal. By the time he started school at age 4, he and his friends were all just sitting on a booster cushion, which was usually the toddler car seat with the back removed. Don’t you suck your teeth in horror – we were doing the responsible thing, just as every other parent of our acquaintance was.
The big seats ‘said’ they would go up to age 9, but really, what over-paranoid parent would inflict that on their child?
Oh how much more we know now.
My 8yr old daughter eagerly begged to be measured just last night, to see if she is yet big enough to come out of her car seat. Sadly for her, she still has another 4cm of growing to do – so for now, she stays encased in that purple seat that has served her so well for so many years (in the UK, car seats are law until the child reaches either 135 cm in height or 12 years old).
Baby laughing in its car seat image courtesy of Shutterstock
Seeing as car seats are such an essential piece of safety kit, you’d think we’d all take the buying decision pretty seriously – I remember hunting for hours for a seat that fitted my car and that did exactly what I wanted. Hours well spent, as she’s still in it five years later.
But apparently we don’t. I read this week (which just happens to be Child Safety Week) that safety groups estimate that as many as 51 per cent of child car seats in use are incorrectly fitted. Which is a bit of a scary statistic.
As part of national Child Safety Week (Monday, 1st – Sunday, 7th June), Halfords is urging every parent in the UK to check their child’s car seat is correctly fitted. Regardless of the seat make, model or where it was purchased, Halfords is offering to check them for free at any store during Child Safety Week this year.
Just pop over – the idea is to give mums, dads and grandparents reassurance that they not only have the right car seat but that it is fitted to deliver maximum protection. Free checks are available in ALL stores from Monday 1st to Sunday 7th June 2015
Child Safety Week is an annual campaign run by the Child Accident Prevention Trust to raise awareness of the risks of child accidents and how they can be prevented.
Checking car safety is so important – 84 per cent of Brits make a car journey with their child at least once a week.*
Danielle Slater, Halfords child seat product manager, said: “We know that child safety is the number one priority for customers purchasing a car seat. However, whilst we ensure every seat that we sell is fitted properly when it’s first purchased they are often removed for use in a second car or loaned to grandparents, which can mean they aren’t correctly fitted again when re-installed.
…we are using Child Safety Week to help raise awareness of the danger and offering free car seat checks at all of our stores to give customers peace of mind. We want to ensure that every parent, grandparent and carer is confident when refitting their car seat.”
Halfords is currently the only child car seat retailer whose car seat fitting training is accredited by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, and has also made a commitment to improving child seat safety by signing the Which? Child Seat Best Practice Charter.
The right car seat can make journeys safer and more comfortable for babies and children, and every Halfords store has highly trained in-store fitters with both the expertise and equipment to help customers choose the right car seat for their child and demonstrate how to fit them.
Halfords are also offering a 5% discount code to LittleStuff readers on ANY car seat on the Halfords site – just use code B16CS01 at the checkout.
toddler sleeping in car seat – image courtesy of Shutterstock
When choosing a car seat for your child, follow Halfords top tips;
• Double check that the seat you want is appropriate for both the size and weight of your child, and your car. Did you know, for example, forward facing car seats can only be used for children over 9kg that can sit unaided and support their own head?
• Think about how you will be using the seat, if you will be taking it in and out of the car is it convenient to secure?
• When fitting the car seat, make sure it is stable with no excessive forwards or sideways movement
• Remove all loose items from where the seat will be fitted – and never fit to a seat with an airbag
• Look out for side impact protection for extra safety just in case
• To cater for a growing child, look out for adjustable headrest and harness so the seat can grow with them
Halfords has stores within a 20 minute drive for 90 per cent of the UK population, so to find your nearest Halfords store visit www.halfords.com
* The total sample size for the YouGov poll, carried out in November 2014, was 4,468 GB adults aged 18+, and all figures have been weighted to be nationally representative of the population.
3 June 2015
Your blog is amazing..