Back Their Future, From Their First Ride to Their Big Kid Years
From 20–26 September, Maxi-Cosi is proud to sponsor Child Passenger Safety Week with the message: "Back Their Future. Buckle Up."
For parents, every journey starts with that familiar moment of buckling your little one in. It may seem like a small part of your routine, but it brings peace of mind, knowing they’re safely secured, from their very first ride home to all the little journeys that follow.
For more than 20 years, Maxi-Cosi has been there to help make every journey a little easier and give parents greater peace of mind with:
- ISOFIX bases for quick, secure installation
- Patented G-Cell technology to absorb side impacts
- AirProtect® headrests that reduce head injury risk by up to 20%
This month, we’re reminding parents that the right seat, used the right way, makes all the difference.
What is i-Size?
Car seat rules can be confusing, so Europe introduced i-Size (UN R129) to make things simpler and safer for parents. Instead of relying mainly on age or weight, i-Size uses your child’s height to help you find the right seat for their growing body, making it easier to choose with confidence.
Why i-Size matters:
- Rearward-facing travel is required until at least 15 months.
- Height-based fit means less guesswork and a safer match for your child.
- Stricter safety tests, including better side-impact protection.
With i-Size, you know your car seat has been designed and tested to meet the latest safety standards.
Why rearward-facing is safest for little ones
In a crash, children who are forward-facing can be thrown forward. For babies and toddlers, this puts huge pressure on their delicate necks and spines, which are still developing.
A rearward-facing seat helps cradle your little one, spreading the forces of a crash across their back, head and neck. This is especially important in head-on (frontal) and multi-vehicle collisions, which are among the most common and severe types of collisions, making up around 60% of crashes.
Our rearward-facing infant car seats, like our Coral Slide Pro and Pebble Slide Pro, work seamlessly with our ISOFIX bases for ultimate safety.
Research shows that children are up to five times safer travelling rearward-facing compared to forward-facing. That’s why many countries, like Sweden, recommend keeping children rearward-facing until at least four years old and why they consistently have some of the lowest child road fatality rates in the world.
Why rearward-facing is the safest start you can give your child:
- Head & Neck Support: Babies have heavier heads and developing necks. Rearward-facing helps protect them from the forces of a crash.
- Crash Dynamics: In a frontal crash, a rearward-facing seat helps cradle your child and spread the forces across their back, head and neck.
- Spinal Protection: Toddlers are up to 5x safer rear-facing until at least 15 months, ideally up to 4 years.
- Proven Practice: Sweden has kept kids rear-facing until 4 for decades, with the world’s lowest child road fatality rates.
How long should my child stay rearward-facing?
i-Size regulations require children to travel rearward-facing until at least 15 months old. But when it comes to protecting your little one, the longer they can safely travel rearward-facing, the better. Ideally, children should remain rearward-facing until around four years old.
Some Maxi-Cosi seats, including the Mica 360 Pro, Pearl XL Slide Pro, and Emerald 360 Pro, are designed to keep little ones safely rearward-facing for longer - up to around four years old or 105cm in height.
Every extra month rearward-facing gives their growing head, neck and spine more protection.
Why bigger kids still need a booster seat
Once children outgrow toddler seats, many parents think the job is done, but boosters are still essential until around 10–12 years old, or until your child reaches 150 cm in height.
Why? Because seat belts are made for adults.
Without a booster:
- The lap belt often rides up over the tummy instead of sitting low across the hips.
- The shoulder belt can sit too close to the neck instead of across the chest and shoulder.
- A poorly positioned seat belt can increase the risk of serious injury in a crash.
A booster seat raises your child up so the belt fits exactly where it should, snug across the shoulder and low on the hips. Studies show that boosters reduce the risk of injury by up to 59% compared with seat belts alone.
Think of it as giving your child the right-sized protection for their growing body. Explore our booster range, including the new Pearl XL Slide Pro and Rodifix Pro i-Size, designed to grow with your child from 3 months or birth, respectively, all the way up to approximately 12 years.
When can my child stop using a booster?
The golden rule: it’s not about age, it’s about height and fit. Your child is ready to travel without a booster when they’re tall enough (around 150 cm) for the seat belt to fit them properly:
- The lap belt lies flat across the hips (not the stomach).
- The shoulder belt rests comfortably across the chest and shoulder (not the neck).
For most children, this happens somewhere between ages 10 and 12. Until then, boosters are the best way to keep them safe.
The Maxi-Cosi Promise
At Maxi-Cosi, safety is at the heart of everything we do. From our extended rearward-facing car seats to our ergonomically designed boosters, every product is engineered to protect children at every stage of their journey.
This Child Passenger Safety Week, parents are encouraged to look beyond age alone and check that their child is travelling in the right child restraint for their height and stage of development. Because every stage of their journey matters – and every decision to buckle up is a decision to help protect what comes next.
Back Their Future. Buckle Up.