【CTP JAPAN Co., Ltd.】80% of people think that child car seats are necessary. 20% of children over the age of 6 always use them. Why is there a discrepancy between parents’ “thoughts” and “actions”? CTP JAPAN Co., Ltd. Press release: July 29, 2025 80% of people “think they need child seats.” 20% “always use them” for children over the age of 6. ─What is the reason for the discrepancy between parents’ “feelings” and “actions”? Parents’ desire to use car seats for safety reasons and the current situation of children rushing to graduate from child seats. A safe choice that matches the child’s growth will foster a future of peace of mind. CTP JAPAN Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), which handles trading for the German parenting brand “CYBEX”, has been working with pediatrician Tatsuhiro Yamanaka (NPO Safe Kids Japan) Under the supervision of the advisor, we conducted a survey on the actual use of child car seats among 1,000 parents with children aged 3 to 12 years old.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-53abe8749d03765668b41662c365379b-1200×660.png ◆Introduction In September 2024, JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) announced that the guideline for using child car seats will be changed from “height under 140 cm” to “height under 150 cm”*. This is in response to the fact that the current law, which sets the age limit at “up to 6 years old,” does not adequately protect children’s safety. Parents with children are now being asked to review the criteria for deciding whether to use a child car seat. *Car seat belts are designed for passengers who are 150 cm or taller Even now in Japan, the legal obligation to use a child car seat is limited to “under 6 years old,” and the majority of families base their decision on graduating from a child car seat on this “age.” As a result, there are many cases where parents remove their child from the car seat early without a proper understanding of the child’s physique and safety. Unfortunately, there have been fatal accidents due to not using a child seat or junior seat. In light of this background, this survey aimed to clarify the extent to which parents are aware of the new recommended guideline that “child seats should be used up to 150 cm to protect children’s safety,” as well as to quantitatively grasp the potential reasons and motivations parents have when removing child seats, and to obtain knowledge that can be used as a reference for future discussions on awareness-raising and system improvements. ◆ Research summary • [Only 20% of children use child car seats after they turn 6] About 60% of respondents answered that they “always used” child car seats until they were 6 years old, but only about 20% answered that they “always used” child car seats after they turned 6, and many people stop using child car seats at the age of “6 years old” • [The standard that “child seats are recommended for those under 150 cm tall” has not been widely adopted] About 40% of people are not aware of the standard recommended by the JAF that “child seats should be used for those under 150 cm tall,” and about 20% of people answered that they “knew it but have stopped using them (plan to stop using them).” This shows that awareness of using child seats based on height has not yet spread widely. • [Many parents outgrow child car seats for reasons other than “safety”] The reasons for outgrowing child car seats are mostly factors other than “safety”, such as “child did not like it” or “it no longer fits the child’s physique” • [The information parents want to know most is “accident cases”] When asked “What kind of information or experience would make you want to use a child car seat until your child is 150cm tall?” more than 40% of the total respondents answered “accident cases” • [More than 80% of parents “want to use a child car seat if it’s for safety”] More than 80% answered “If it’s for the safety of the child, I think it’s better to continue using a child car seat if the child is under 150cm tall, regardless of age” ◆ Survey overview 【Number of survey participants】1,000 people [Survey period] June 19th to July 1st, 2025 [Survey target] Parents with children aged 3 to 12 who own a car [Survey organization] Freeasy [Survey period] June 2025 [Survey title] Survey on attitudes towards children ◆ Survey Results ⚫︎Q1. How often do you use a child car seat or junior car seat*? *In the following questions, we will use the term “child seat”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-0017bafbcf07858b62a82e012559bd94-1920×1080.png • 49.9% of respondents answered “always use” which is about half of the total • 28.2% of the total answered “I used it in the past, but I don’t use it now” • Overall, the percentage of people who use child car seats on a regular basis is high. ⚫︎Q2. When you were using a child seat, how old was your child and how often did you use it?
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-adec6c67cdaf5c50237a2837629b4143-1920×1080.png • 19.15% of respondents answered that they “did not use it at all” even though the legal obligation to use it is “up to the age of 6” • The usage rate dropped sharply for those over 6 years old, who are not legally required to use the drug, with only 20.92% of respondents saying they “always used it,” while the number of people who said they “never used it” rose sharply to 44.33% of the total. • There is a clear trend that the legal requirement of “up to 6 years of age” is the criterion for deciding whether to use a child car seat ⚫︎Q3. Do you know that you are required to use a child seat?
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-bf8e38afd257ea41553be3c4f41c9caa-1920×1080.png • Only 65.2% of the total correctly understood that “it is an obligation until the age of 6” • 10.6% of respondents answered “I didn’t know there was an obligation to use it” • The current situation where legal standards are not fully implemented was also highlighted. ⚫︎Q4. Did you know that JAF has raised the height guideline for child car seats from under 140cm to under 150cm?
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-cf81f1a1bf25a2d24c5219856ef2e2d1-1920×1080.png • 38.2% (13.6% 24.6%) of the total were unaware of the standard that “child seats are recommended for children under 150cm” • 24.7% of respondents answered that they knew about it but had their child graduate (or plan to graduate), and there is a certain number of people who have knowledge but have not put it into practice. • It has become clear that the guideline of less than 150cm has not yet been fully adopted. ⚫︎Q5. If you were to graduate your child from a child car seat in the future, what would be the reasons for considering graduating? Please rank up to 5 of the most applicable answers. (※For those who currently use a child car seat)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-3ac213ccc23f9aa6316a13d761ef4d1f-1920×1080.png • Only 13.93% of respondents answered that they plan to use a child car seat until their child is 150cm tall. • In addition, 35.93% of respondents answered that their number one reason was “Because I was sure that there would be no safety concerns even if I didn’t use a child seat” • More than half of the total are considering graduating their children for reasons other than safety, such as “because the child didn’t like it” or “because it no longer suits the child’s physique” ⚫︎Q-6 When you graduated your child from a child car seat, what were the reasons for considering graduating? Please rank up to 5 of the most applicable reasons. (※For those who have used a child car seat in the past)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-113222f8536a705a1155888c5e080be9-1920×1080.png • 31.21% of people who have outgrown child car seats answered that the number one reason was “because I was sure there would be no safety concerns even without a child car seat” • The highest response rate (66.31%) was “Because it no longer fits my child’s physique” • More than half of the total had their children graduate from the school for reasons other than safety, such as “the child didn’t like it” or “it no longer suited the child’s physique.” ⚫︎Q7. Child car seats are mandatory for children under 6 years old, but there is data that shows that “even for children over 6 years old, the rate of death and serious injury is more than doubled when child car seats are not used.” Knowing this, which of the following applies to your attitude toward using and graduating from child car seats? (※Applies to people who currently use child car seats)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-7381c698138624492665c15bcc7ffdda-1920×1080.png • 81.06% (44.01% 37.05%) answered that they would like their children over 6 years old to use child seats if it was for their safety. • It turns out that “accurate information about risks” has a stronger influence on awareness and behavior than laws. ⚫︎Q8. Child car seats are mandatory for children under 6 years old, but there is data that shows that “even for children over 6 years old, the rate of death and serious injury is more than doubled when child car seats are not used.” Knowing this, which of the following applies to your attitude toward using and graduating from child car seats? (※This applies to people who have used a child car seat in the past) Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-857cb451e00a7c9f41aa64eb189df68a-1920×1080.png • Only 47.17% of respondents said they “wanted them to use it” • The number of positive responses has decreased significantly compared to the responses of those who currently use child seats, and it is thought that “whether they knew about it when they were using child seats” had a strong influence on their awareness. ⚫︎Q9. What information or experience would make you want to use a child car seat until your child is 150cm tall? Please rank up to 5 answers. (※For those who are currently using a child car seat)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-6271c25acbbe95fa6ecf428441821123-1920×1080.png • About half of the total (48.75%) answered “actual accident cases” as the number one answer, which was overwhelmingly higher than other answers. • Knowing the specific risks is expected to promote the use of child car seats. ⚫︎Q.10 What information or experience would have made you want to use a child car seat until your child was 150cm tall? Please rank up to 5 answers. (※For those who have used a child car seat in the past)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-47514206961c64203a9bc199d230a34b-1920×1080.png • 42.55% responded that “actual accident cases” was the number one, and the response rate was overwhelmingly higher than other responses. • 13.48% of respondents answered that “if there is a child seat that will sit without any worries,” which is about twice as much when compared to those who currently use child seats. ⚫︎Q.11 If it is effective to protect the safety of children, do you think it’s better to continue using a child seat if it’s under 150cm regardless of age?
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/135228/21/135228-21-00a9ad407e79eb9ab425b5b1e2d44eee-1920×1080.png • 81.3% (33.3% 48.0%) responded positively, saying “I strongly agree” and “I think so,” and they received high sympathy for their use on the height standard. • It can be seen that parents want to judge based on their “safety and effectiveness” rather than their age. Through this survey, it was revealed that only about 60% of all cases recognize the standard that the approximate usage of child seats is “less than 150cm tall.” On the other hand, more than 80% of parents believe that “child seats should be used even if they are over 6 years old,” and the results showed that they are highly conscious of being safe. Among them, many people said that they wanted to put their children’s safety first, saying, “I don’t think it’s safe even if they’re over 7 years old,” “I think safety is the best,” and “I can now wear seat belts, so parents’ self-conceptions that their children might be cramped, and they strongly felt that they shouldn’t put them in danger. I once again felt that it would be irreversible after something happened.” However, only about 30% of respondents responded that they had graduated from child seats because they were confident that there was no need to worry about safety. Although many families have a desire to “emphasize child safety,” the current situation has revealed that the reason for graduating from child seats is not “safety,” but rather “legal system” or “parents’ self-judgment.” ◆ Consideration This survey shows the reality that the current decision to graduate from a child seat depends on the “system” and “parents’ own senses” and is not based on essential safety standards. In the future, it is thought that using child seats will become even more necessary to induce judgments based on their height (physical structure) rather than their age. If the dangers and safety caused by use of child seats that have not been used are widespread in society, the use of child seats will increase even further, and it is expected that opportunities to protect children’s lives will increase. To do this, it is essential not only to change the awareness of parents, but also to promote the use standards and how to choose the right products across all stakeholders, including in the transportation and childcare and childcare industries. Yamanaka Ryuhiro, an advisor to Safe Kids Japan, a pediatrician and NPO who has been working to prevent child accidents for many years, said: Until now, the rate of child seat usage for those under the age of 6, as defined by law, was reported annually, but no data was available for those over the age of 6. This survey revealed that many reasons for graduating from child seats are “because they are 6 years old” or “because they no longer fit their physique.” Seat belts and child seats that secure the body to the car are essential for safety, but there are differences in how they are used. When a child under 150cm of the body is wearing a seat belt and a car collides, the seat belt bites hard into the abdomen, causing deaths in actual cases. You will be transitioning to using seat belts when you reach 150cm tall. We would like you to make decisions based on your height and make choices to protect your child’s precious lives. We hope that this survey will gradually expand the “standards of using child seats based on height (physical build) as a way to protect children’s safety” from both the family and society. Note) The “Child Seat Usage Survey 2024,” jointly conducted by the National Police Agency and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), is based on the main method of investigation by directly interviewing. The results of this survey were conducted based on a questionnaire, but show similar data trends and we believe that the data is highly reliable. (Example: Child seat usage rate under the age of 6: 78% (JAF), 71% (This survey)) WE ARE HERE TO DELIVER THE BEST PRODUCTS AND CONCEPTS FOR ALL FAMILIES TODAY AND TOMORROW. CYBEX is a German parenting (baby product) brand that is highly regarded worldwide for its safety, design and functionality. Product development (CYBEX D.S.F.
Innovation) that emphasizes three pillars: Design, Safety (Excellent Safety and Quality) and Function (Intelligent Function). Principle has led to numerous public reviews for safety and numerous awards for design. Without limiting to these achievements, we are constantly achieving innovation, continuing to create products that are in line with the lifestyles of modern parents, and aiming to become an innovative lifestyle and fashion brand that is not bound by the framework of baby products. Even now that it merged with Goodbaby International in 2014 and has grown to become the world’s largest parenting brand, Martin Pos, founder of CYBEX and father of two, leads the group as CEO, bringing the best concepts and products to the “now and future families.” CTP JAPAN Co., Ltd. (Columbus Trading-Partners Japan, Limited) is a specialized trading company founded to ensure that products optimized for Japanese parents are delivered, and is the “official import agent” of CYBEX products. CYBEX GmbH owns 100% of its shares. Cybex (brand) official website https://cybex-online.com/ja-jp Details about this release *This email will be sent automatically, so please refrain from replying.
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