Beyond Group 1, What Next? Mark Bennett, Car Seat Safety Expert from BRITAX explains that as children move to a Group 2/3 stage car seat, safety whilst travelling should remain a key priority.
Here’s Dexie modeling his BRITAX MAX-FIX Group 0+ & 1 car seat. As a tiny tot, he’s not quite ready for his upgrade yet!
With many children starting school this week or next, parents up and down the country are bracing themselves for the years of school runs ahead. Whilst a new uniform, new shoes and school bag may seem like your child’s number one priority, you need to ensure that little ones get to school safely and on time.
It may feel that only yesterday you were buying your first car seat for your newborn and then just when you were getting to grips with Group 1, the next stage car seat will sneak up on you, around about the time they will be finishing pre-school. Whilst your little one may appear to be a strong big boy or girl as they reach the age of four, keeping them safe whilst travelling is still top priority.
Mark Bennett explains, ‘As your child moves into a new phase of their life with school, it is a good time to do a ‘health check’ on your travel safety. Many parents are still unaware that it is required by law for children to travel in a car seat until they are 135cm tall or 12 years old – whichever comes first - so the final Group 2-3 stage car seats will see your child from the age of four all the way until they are 12 years of age.
At the age of four or 15 kg, children are old enough to move to an adult seat belt but this doesn’t mean they don’t need protection. Many parents believe children will be safe on a booster cushion, a small platform that lifts them up on the seat, however these are not safe as they do not have the all important side impact protection of deep side wings and a protective headrest.’
In fact, car seat safety technology for children aged 4 years plus has advanced so much that a new era of car seat travel for stage 2-3 has been born with BRITAX setting new safety standards in the industry. The arrival of the new KIDFIX XP SICT features the latest technology for keeping your child safer than ever. The new seat features an innovative XP-PAD, a cushioned seat belt pad, which works in the event of a collision by taking the energy of crash forces away from the child’s chest area and supports their neck as the chin hits the compressed cushion, should the child’s head jolts forward. This reduces high neck loads by up to 30% in comparison to a normal 3-point seat belt.
Side impact protection is a key priority for BRITAX as side impact collisions are one of the most frequent and dangerous types of collisions on the roads*. BRITAX has developed energy management cushions known as Side Impact Cushion Technology (SICT) which offers superior side impact protection. The new flexible SICT cushion is on both sides of the KIDFIX XP SICT, but only needs to be activated on the side closest to the door, ensuring space and comfort on the side of the seat for additional passengers. These ground breaking cushions work to absorb the forces of a side collision before they reach your child, making these seats the safest Group 2-3 seat currently offered by BRITAX.
To find out more about the new KIDFIX XP SICT, visit http://www.britax.co.uk/car-seats/car-seats/kidfix-xp-sict.
Disclaimer: I have been sent this information as a BRITAX Mumbassador. As a very helpful article, I have decided to share this with you. I have not received payment for doing so.
