Children's Car Seats: How to Keep Your Child Safe on the Road

Written by
Bruce Pitchers's profile picture
Bruce Pitchers
Content Manager NZ
Source: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
Source: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com

All children under seven in NZ must be strapped into an approved child restraint while in a car. Canstar looks at how to keep your precious passengers safe.

Key Points

  • All children under seven in NZ must be strapped into an approved child restraint while in a car.
  • It is recommended that rear-facing car seats or capsules are used for babies until they are two years old, or they outgrown them.
  • Always use an approved car seat that’s right for your child’s weight and size.
  • Some car insurance policies cover the theft of infant car seats.

As a driver on NZ's roads, it’s up to you to ensure you’re following the rules concerning driving with kids in the car.

Driving with young children in the car: the basics

The back seat is the safest place in a vehicle for all children aged under 12. International best practice recommends the use of an appropriate child restraint (or booster seat) until your child is 148cm tall, or 11 years old. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) suggests that you keep your baby in a rear-facing restraint until as old as practicable, at least until they are two years old. A child restraint is essentially there to keep children safe from crash forces. 

What defines a child restraint?

 Approved child restraints include:

  • Infant restraints for young babies (often called baby capsules)
  • Car seats (for older babies, toddlers and preschool children)
  • Booster seats (for preschool and school-aged children)
  • Child safety harnesses (used with or without a booster seat for preschool and school-aged children)

It can be daunting to try to install a car seat correctly, and it’s not always easy to get it right the first time. Plunket has some helpful resources for ensuring your car seat is fitted correctly.

Where's the best place for a rear-facing car seat?

It's recommended that you use a rear-facing car seat or capsule for your baby until they are two years old, or until they’ve outgrown it. Always put your baby’s car seat rear-facing in the backseat with your baby looking out of the back window. 

Where's the best place for a forward-facing car seat?

Always use an approved car seat that’s right for your child’s weight and size. Your child's size is more important than its age when choosing the right car seat. Install child car seats on the back seat. This is the safest place, as front passenger airbags inflate with enough force to seriously injure a child.

Does my vehicle insurance cover theft of car seats?

Some car insurance policies cover stolen infant car seats. Give your insurer a call to double check. The AA, for example, covers children’s car seats under their Comprehensive Policy; Tower provides cover under their Comprehensive and Third Party, Fire and Theft policies, and AMI under their Full Cover Policy. 

How can I tell if a car seat is trustworthy?

All approved child restraints display standard markings to show they are approved. Look for a child restraint that shows a tick mark (it indicates the restraint meets the requirements of the joint New Zealand/Australian Standard) and an E mark (indicates the restraint meets the European Standard). The number on the circle will vary depending on the country of certification. To find out if your child's restraint has been recalled, visit the Product Recalls website and search by name of the manufacturer and model number.

By following these simple guidelines, you can ensure that you've got your child's safety covered when you're out on the road. And for more information on the best car insurance providers to protect your other valuable asset – your car – just click the link below.


Compare car insurance with Canstar



Bruce Pitchers's profile picture
Bruce PitchersContent Manager NZ

Bruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ's Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the DrivenStuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery puzzle book 5 Minute Murder.

Important Information

For those that love the detail

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.