Parents here take too lightly the safety of their children in vehicles, said safety experts, car dealers and expatriate parents interviewed.

Under the law, children up to eight years old have to be strapped into a child seat while in a car. Failure to do so may lead to the driver facing a $120 fine and three demerit points.

But a check with 30 Singaporean parents with children below the age of eight showed that the majority do not bother strapping their children in because "it is uncomfortable" for the kids.

About half confessed they do not own a child seat because it would not be used and would be a waste of money.

For those who own one, chances are it is just for show - in case the Traffic Police check. Only three parents say they will religiously use their child seats.

Part-time tutor M. Chew, 32, allows her two sons, aged five and three, to play when she drives.

"They are very active and will scream if I strap them into child seats. So I don't even bother buying them," she said. Her sons even play below the steering wheel area while she drives.

Engineer Gerard Goh, 33, did not get a child seat for his two-year-old son: "I know it's compulsory but my son rides in the car only on weekends. It doesn?t make sense to have a bulky child seat in the car for the rest of the week."

Mr Michael Wong, president of the Motor Traders Association of Singapore, said: "I pity the child. In the event of an accident, he will be the first one to fly out of the car."

Studies have shown that more children aged one to 14 die from accidents, such as car crashes, than from any other cause.

Child-seat retailers said that parents who buy their seats also tend to cut corners by getting cheap ones which may not even be suitable for their children.

"There are parents who buy booster seats for their toddlers because they are the cheapest seats around. But booster seats are for children above 15kg," said Mr Aloysius Kee, director of Baby Avenue, a store selling baby supplies.

First Few Years, a baby store, said some parents even leave it to their children to decide whether they want to use a child seat.

Said its spokesman: "One of our customers asked her six-month-old baby if she wanted a child seat and expected the child to give an answer."

There is also a problem of parents not knowing how to fix child seats or fixing them wrongly, said retailers.

Expatriate parents with young children said that they were shocked at how Singaporean parents take the issue of car seats so lightly.

Said Ms Crystal Bridge, 30, a housewife from Britain: "Many Singaporean parents are willing to spend a lot of money on expensive cars but won't spend $200 on a child seat. They need to get their priorities right."

Singaporean housewife Sylvia Kong, 36, agrees. The mother of two, who is married to an Australian, takes along her children's child seats even when they go overseas on holidays.

Some parents say the lack of brochures and public education on child seats is to be blamed.

Said Ms Yolanda Kwek, 38, a banker with a 16-month-old toddler: "Maternity hospitals here have so many brochures on formula milk but not a single one on child safety in vehicles. I had to ask around and do my own research."

Unlike in European countries, car companies here do not give out child seats as promotional gifts or sell them in a package with the car. A check found that only Volvo Cars has a promotion which offers a free child seat for every car purchased.

Said Mr Wong of the Motor Traders Association: "Singaporeans are very pragmatic. They would rather get a discount than a free child seat."

This story was first published in The Sunday Times on May 11, 2008.