Fitting a child in a High Backed Booster
Important: While we advocate for best-practice safety on UK roads, every car seat is engineered differently.
The information on this page is for general guidance only. You must always consult your specific seat manual or contact your specialist retailer to ensure your seat is installed and used exactly as the manufacturer intended.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 / Indoor Clothing Only
No Coats, Costumes or Bulky Clothing: Puffy layers compress in a crash, leading to potential ejection from the seat.
Stay Warm: Buckle them in first, then tuck a blanket over them if needed.
2 / Bum to Back
Just like babies, big kids need to be positioned correctly before the belt goes on. Make sure your child’s bum is right at the back of the seat and they are sitting up straight at all times.
Why? If they slouch, the lap belt will ride up onto their soft tummy, which can cause catastrophic internal injuries in a crash.
3 / Lap Belt & Horns
The lap belt's job is to sit across the strong bones of the hips/thighs, never the stomach. Ensure the lap belt is correctly routed under both "horns" (armrests) if your seat has them. The belt should be flat and snug across the tops of the thighs.
4 / Shoulder Belt & Headrest
The shoulder belt must stay centred on the collarbone - not rubbing the neck and not slipping off the shoulder. The general rule of thumb is to adjust the headrest so there is a 2-finger gap between the bottom of the headrest and the child’s shoulders, though the seatbelt being positioned correctly overrides this "rule".
The belt must pass through the upper belt guide under the headrest and under the horn closest to the seatbelt buckle.
5 / The "Retraction" Check
​Sometimes a child leans forward and the seatbelt "sticks" in the guide, leaving a loop of slack when they sit back back. Pull the belt out and let it go. It must retract smoothly through the guide every single time. If it bunches or stays loose, that seat may not compatible with your car's belt geometry.
