Earlier today, Axkid launched their new report: “Child Safety in Cars 2025”, which explores parents’ knowledge and behaviours around child car seat safety. The study was carried out in both Sweden and the UK, with separate reports produced for each market.
The findings highlight some important — and in some cases, concerning — differences between the two countries when it comes to how children are restrained in cars.
Striking Differences Between Sweden and the UK
The report shows that Sweden and the UK differ significantly in both regulations and parental behaviours regarding car seat safety.
In Sweden, there is a strong national recommendation — in addition to the standard EU regulation — that children should travel rear-facing until at least the age of 4, and ideally for longer. This guidance is widely followed by Swedish parents.
In the UK, however, the EU regulation is the only benchmark: children must remain rear-facing until at least 15 months old, and no additional national guidance exists beyond that. This is despite clear research showing that rear-facing travel is up to five times safer for young children in a crash.
Many UK Parents Unknowingly Putting Children at Risk
Following the law, most UK parents are turning their children forward-facing before or by age 2, whereas in Sweden, this change typically doesn’t happen until the child is at least 4 years old.
The numbers are telling:
- In the UK, 69% of children under 2 always travel rear-facing, while 27% already travel forward-facing.
- In Sweden, 96% of children under 2 remain rear-facing.
- Among children aged 2 to just under 4 years, only 22% in the UK still travel rear-facing, compared to 83% in Sweden.
These findings highlight a clear need for greater awareness and education in the UK about the importance of extended rear-facing (ERF) travel.
Lack of Guidance
One of the key takeaways from the report is the need for better guidance. To improve child safety in cars, parents must be equipped with the right knowledge to make well-informed decisions. This places responsibility not just on families, but also on authorities, manufacturers, and retailers to do more in terms of communication and education. At Car Seat Ninja, we believe it’s essential that families are supported with clear, evidence-based information about why extended rear-facing matters — and how best to protect their children at every stage.
What Can Parents Do?
Axkid and Car Seat Ninja, strongly recommend keeping children rear-facing until at least the age of 4, and ideally beyond, using car seats designed for extended rear-facing use. We also continue to support the message that children should use an appropriate child restraint until they are at least 135 cm tall, but preferably 150cm which is the height at which vehicle seats belts are designed from.
Read the Full Report
The full report, “Child Safety in Cars 2025”, is now available to download via Axkid’s website:
By spreading awareness and supporting informed choices, we can work together to make journeys safer for every child.