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Car Seat Safety Centre

4) What are i-Size & R129 safety standards?

For your baby's safety and comfort, we recommend keeping them rear-facing for at least 15 months. This position offers superior protection in the event of a collision, as it provides extra support for your baby's head, neck, and spine.

You have the flexibility to choose the best car seat for your family’s needs:

  • Dream i-Size Infant Carrier: A single-stage car seat designed for newborns and babies up to 13kg. The Dream Infant Carrier is lightweight, easy to carry, and perfectly suited for babies from birth onwards, providing a secure, rear-facing position.

  • Motion 2 All Size 360: For those looking for a more long-term solution, the Motion All Size 360 is a multi-stage seat that grows with your child. Starting as a rear-facing seat, it can later be converted into forward-facing mode, adapting as your child grows from infancy all the way through to toddlerhood and beyond. With advanced safety features and 360° rotation for easy in-and-out access, the Motion All Size 360 offers the convenience of a single seat for every stage.

Once your little one reaches 15 months of age, it’s time to transition to a car seat that suits their growing needs. While this is an important milestone, we always recommend keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible, as it provides the highest level of safety in the event of a collision.

You have two excellent options to consider for this next stage:

  • Motion 2 All Size 360: If you prefer to keep your child rear-facing beyond 15 months, the Motion All Size 360 is a fantastic choice. This multi-stage car seat offers extended rear-facing capabilities, providing maximum protection and comfort until your child reaches 18kg (around 4 years old). With its innovative 360° swivel feature, the seat rotates to make getting in and out of the car easier, while still keeping your little one securely rear-facing for as long as possible. The Motion All Size 360 is a great option if you want the flexibility to transition to forward-facing later while prioritising safety.

  • Balance i-Size: If you’re ready for your child to transition to a forward-facing seat, the Balance i-Size offers the perfect solution. Designed with cutting-edge safety features and an ergonomic design, this seat meets the latest i-Size standards and is suitable for children from 15 months up to 4 years old (or 105cm in height). With its secure harness system and side-impact protection, the Balance i-Size ensures your child is safe and comfortable as they travel forward-facing.

No matter which option you choose, remember that rear-facing for as long as possible gives your child the best protection, especially in the early years. Whichever seat you select, Silver Cross ensures that safety and comfort are always the top priorities as your child grows.

When your child has outgrown their 5-point car seat harness (usually around 4 years old, or approximately 18kg in weight for the Motion 2 All Size 360 model, and 21kg for the Balance i-Size model), it’s time to transition to the next stage of car seat: a high back booster. A high back booster helps ensure that the car's seat belt fits your child properly, offering enhanced protection and support, especially during longer journeys.

The Discover i-Size booster seat is a suitable option for children who are between 100-150cm in height, which typically covers children from around 4 to 12 years old. This stage is important as your child continues to grow, and the Discover i-Size provides both comfort and security with its adjustable features. The Motion 2 All Size and Balance i-Size car seats are designed to convert into a high back booster once your child reaches the appropriate size. These models offer flexibility, allowing parents to extend the use of the seat as their child grows, ensuring they continue to travel safely.

The high back booster stage is a key step in your child's car safety journey, providing the support needed for the growing child while ensuring proper seatbelt positioning. It's crucial to choose a car seat that meets i-Size regulations, as it ensures the best safety performance for your child in the event of an accident.

By choosing an ISOFIX car seat, you are choosing one of the safest ways for your child to travel in the car.

  • Minimal risk of incorrect installation

  • A permanent connection

  • Quick installation & easy removal

ISOFIX is an internationally standardised car seat fitting system.

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Silver Cross Motion 2 All Size 360 Car Seat

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Back seat ISOFIX slot of a modern car

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Installing car seat with ISOFIX to back seat

Some seats can be fitted with the vehicle 3-point seatbelt and do not use ISOFIX.

A belt fit child seat is just as safe as an ISOFIX child seat, provided it is fitted correctly.

  • Universal fitment

  • Seat tends to be more portable.

  • There is a higher chance of fitting the seat incorrectly, so follow the fitting instructions carefully.

Please ensure you follow the safety information provided with your car seat as each seat is individual. 

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Silver Cross Dream i-Size car seat installed using the seat belt, please refer to the instructions for details ( click here )

Please use our car compatibility tool via the link below to ensure your chosen Silver Cross car seat is compatible with all the vehicles it will be used in.

Car Compatibility Guide

4) What are i-Size & R129 safety standards?

When choosing a new car seat for your child, it is very important to make sure it meets the latest safety standard i-Size (also known as R129).

i-Size is a European car seat safety standard that was launched in 2013. The R129/i-Size car seat standard is the most up-to-date safety standard for car seats and offers a guaranteed fit in cars that have i-Size seating positions!

What is the difference between R129/i-Size and R44?

The R44 standard is based on the weight of your child. By contrast, R129/i-Size is length-based.  

We highly recommend choosing a car seat that follows the R129 standard, since it is the safest and give guidelines on what car seat is suitable are based on a child's length. Usually, parents are more aware of the length of their child than their weight. This means that i-Size makes it easier to be sure you are using the right car seat for your child.  

i-Size safety gives you peace of mind!

i-Size car seats are considered to be safer than R44 with improved head and neck protection. That's because:  

 

  • Side-impact crash test results are assessed as part of the i-Size standard.  

  • i-Size safety tests are completed using advanced Q-dummies, which have more sensors than the dummies used for the R44 test.   

  • Your baby must travel in the very safe rear-facing position up to the minimum recommended age of 15 months. Some i-Size car seats can even be used rear-facing until your child is 105 cm tall, which is around 4 years old.   

Bare in mind that, according to i-Size, your baby or toddler car seat needs to be installed using ISOFIX. An i-Size car seat with ISOFIX connectors attaches the car seat directly to your car’s chassis and is therefore more likely to be correctly fitted in your vehicle. Note that you need an additional ISOFIX base to install a baby car seat using ISOFIX.  

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