New online tool helps parents choose right car seat

Is your child strapped in safely? Four out of 10 parents admit they’re uncertain which car seat is right for their child…

Parents across the UK say they feel overwhelmed by the number of different child seats for sale. Meanwhile, one in 10 confess that even once they’ve bought the correct seat, they don’t feel confident fitting it in their car. 

Sound familiar? Never fear. According to online marketplace Heycar, this new online tool will help you find the right car seat every time.

The right fit

Naturally, safety is the top priority for parents when choosing a car seat. However, research shows they’re also looking for a seat that’s good quality, easy to fit and remove, and long-lasting.

Heycar’s survey also found that being able to fit a car seat remains a big concern among parents – with mums apparently feeling less confident than dads when strapping their child in for the ride.

On average, fitting a child car seat takes parents 11 minutes and 30 seconds – although 1% claim fitting can take over an hour.

Vik Barodia, Heycar COO said: “There’s a lot of confusion out there about car seats. It’s easy to see why parents don’t know what way to turn.”

Unique car seat chooser

The topic of car seats has caused some confusion ever since laws were updated back in March 2017.

These are the current guidelines for child seats in the UK:

• Children must use a car seat until they are 12 years or 134cm (4ft 5in), whichever comes first
• You can use front or rear-facing seats from 15 months old, before that you must use a back-facing one
• When your child reaches 18kg (2st 8lbs) you can then use a booster seat or cushion
• Your car seat must be EU-approved. This can be identified by a label with a capital ‘E’ in a circle

Heycar says its new unique car seat chooser makes finding the right seat much easier – with parents simply asked to enter their car registration number to reveal the perfect seat for their make and model. Easy.

How long does it take to get your kids out the house in the morning? According to research, parents spend four days a year getting children into the car