Estonishingly, two thirds of child car seats checked at fitting clinics are either wrong child car seat for that child or are fitted incorrectly. So it's essential that you buy the right one and you get it fitted properly to really protect your little one. Firstly, make sure you check the child car seat fits in your car before you buy. If it doesn't, then it may not protect your child in a crash. You'll also need to check it fits in any other cars you might use. Take a look at our buying video for more advice on how to choose the best. You should ask the retailer that you'll buy the child car seat from to demonstrate the fitting for you and you should practice it yourself before you take it home. The safest place for the child car seat is always on the back seat of the car. All child car seats are fitted slightly differently, so make sure you read the instruction manual before you fit it. The base of the child car seat should sit squarely and evenly on the back seat of the car, if it doesn't, then it's not right for the car and you'll need to get another one. Most of the time, the headrest should be raised to make sure it's not touching the seat. However, there are some child car seats that actually need it to be attached to the headrest, so check in the instructions before fitting. Some Ford facing seats have a tensioner, if it does, then release it at this point. Pull the seatbelt out to make it easier and recline the seat if you can. Put the seatbelt through and clip it into the buckle, then make sure that it's in all of the red root guides securely. Make sure you use the correct root guides as stated in the instructions. Then apply the tensioner, or if you don't have one, make the seatbelt tight yourself. Lastly, make sure the seatbelt isn't twisted anywhere. We recommend testing the seat before you put your child in by pulling on the internal harness. Make sure that the buckle doesn't bend around the shell of the child car seat, as this will put pressure on it, causing it to fail in a crash. Finally, just make sure that your child is in the car seat properly. You want to make sure that the shoulder pads are level with the shoulders, or if they're raising up a little bit no more than an inch. Also, you want to make sure the harness isn't too tight or too loose. You want to be able to get two fingers underneath the shoulder pads, and then you want to take any thick clothing off, because that really makes a difference how well they're fitting in. You can find all our information on child car seats and best buys that have been able to withstand our tough lab tests that are higher than the UK standard by visiting witch.co.uk. Click on the links below for more on choosing a child car seat, how we test child car seats, and our car seat reviews.