Do Booster Seats Need To Be Anchored? (Expert Advice)

For ensuring better safety in your child’s booster seat, anchoring is important. It keeps the booster seat secured to the car seat. If you don’t know what anchors are, then let you know, these are small metals that keep the booster seat secured. But it’s not necessary that you have to anchor every booster seat to the car.

So, do booster seats need to be anchored? Booster seats do need to be necessarily anchored. But mostly it depends on the car you are using. Latching the seat in the right place is the main reason for anchoring the booster seat. Although many car models do not let you anchor the booster seat. But if it is possible with your car then don’t forget to do so.

There is more to this. Let’s get into the entails and you will know when to anchor the booster seat and also types of anchoring.

Do Booster Seats Need To Be Anchored?

We all know the main purpose of using a booster seat in our car. Undoubtedly that is our baby’s safety. So it’s important to use that properly. Many cars do not give any opportunity to anchor the booster seats. But if your car is allowing you to anchor the booster seat then it’s better to do so as soon as possible.

Anchoring the booster seat brings multiple useful and helpful benefits to you and your baby. By anchoring the booster seat, you provide your little with the safest place ever. The main thing which is done by the anchoring is keeping the booster seat stable and safer. By anchoring, you make the booster seat stuck with the car seat.

You can do anchoring by the Lower anchor as well as top tether anchor. Which one will be better depends totally on your car type. But experts say lower anchoring is safer and reliable. If you do not provide the booster seat with any kind of anchoring, then your child may face a bunch of major problems which have no remedy.

No anchoring means no strong connection to the car. When the car starts to move faster, baby booster seats without any anchoring just keep shaking and give a fear in your mind that your baby will fall. And there is a high possibility that your baby will fall. So we suggest anchoring the booster seat because it is not a big deal to take.

When the car takes a break suddenly because of any reason, your kid may fall and face horrible and dangerous bumps and pains. Huge accidents may also take place because of no anchoring. So we should become a little bit more conscious while choosing the car and anchoring the baby booster.

What Does Anchoring Mean?

Anchoring is nothing but a connection between the booster seat and the car. The vehicle’s lower anchor or top tether anchor keeps the booster seat connected and placed in the proper place with the straps. Different vehicles have different kinds of anchors.

For example some vehicles have a rigid lower anchor. On the other hand few others have flexible straps. Additionally many cars do not allow you to use the lower anchors. In that case, you have to use the top tether anchors. There are many other types of anchors which different brands and cars offer.

But some cars do not allow you to anchor with the booster seat. So finding a car which allows doing so is quite a must. Lower anchors are far better than any other kind of anchors. That keeps your baby strongly stable safely and comfortably.

How To Anchor A Booster Seat?

Booster seats are specialized seats made for children prioritizing their comfort and safety. As most vehicle seats are made for adults, the seat belts included cannot safely secure a child in place. That’s why a booster seat is recommended if you wanna travel somewhere in your car with your baby.

But how do you secure the booster seat to the vehicle? There would not be any point in a booster seat if you cannot secure it with the baby. That is where the various methods of anchoring a booster seat to the vehicle seat come in.

Anchoring is simply the method used for securing a booster seat so that it does not move around or shake inside the vehicle. Multiple methods can be used to anchor but they may vary from vehicle to vehicle. However, the most widely acknowledged and used system for anchoring is called the LATCH system which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children.

It is a system that provides the necessary things in a vehicle to properly secure a booster seat. Almost all of the booster seats are made accordingly to LATCH and vehicles that came after 2003 should have this system implemented as well.

Lower anchors and tether anchors are the primary anchoring solutions for LATCH. Depending on your situation or preference you may choose one or the other. Lower anchors are cleverly situated in the vehicle’s seat gap. While tether anchors are generally located behind the vehicle’s backseat.

You can use both of these anchors at the same time for added safety but that would not be necessary unless you are planning on driving on a very bumpy road. The belt similar to a seat belt that comes out behind the booster seat connects to those anchors securing it properly and safely.

What Kind Of Anchors Are There For Booster Seats?

There are not that many popular methods of anchoring a booster seat other than LATCH which is the industry standard right now. You can do a custom manual anchoring but that would be too much unnecessary trouble. You should only attempt a custom anchor if your booster seat or vehicle does not have a LATCH system built-in. But as most automobiles do have it, you would want to know how to properly anchor the booster using it and the process involved.

A LATCH supported vehicle will have a pair of ‘U’ shaped metals kind of like a small handle, on the seat gap, usually beside the seat belt. These are the lower anchors. A booster seat should have various extendable straps that have a hook at the end of the strap to connect to the lower anchor, basically like a seatbelt. In contrast, some lower anchors can extend via a strap.

The case is the same with the tether anchor. Straps from the booster seat connect to the tether anchor vertically. Additionally, seatbelts are an option to use as an anchor but it is nowhere near secure compared to LATCH. However, if you have already installed LATCH, then there is no need to use the seatbelt as it does essentially the same thing.

Which Anchor Is Better For A Booster Seat?

Amongst the two different anchors that LATCH provides, both of them have their respectable use cases and scenarios. So if you want maximum security for your baby, you should attach both anchors to the booster seat. But if you are considering attaching only one anchor and you are wondering which one would be better, the lower anchor is the one you should go for.

Since vehicles shake mostly in the vertical direction and that is what you should be paying the most attention to, the lower anchor does a better job at keeping it stable. Because it connects to the bottom of the seat, it can nullify vertical bumps and movement better.

Horizontal movements occur when you are taking a hard turn with your vehicle. The tether anchor does a better job at handling that since it is vertically connected to the back. But horizontal movements are not that major since you will not be taking hard turns with a baby in your car.

If you want your baby to get less shaking from both directions, attaching both anchors is recommended. If you are planning on using a seatbelt then only do so if you don’t have any other options. Using just the seatbelt as an anchor is not recommended.

Wrapping up

Hopefully, by now you have a clear idea of Do booster seats need to be anchored? Though not every car needs to get anchored booster seats, it’s certainly important for your child’s safety. That’s why we suggest not to take it randomly. Therefore, you can easily anchor the booster seat so it should be done without any hesitation.

We have shared different types of anchoring procedures. You can choose whichever seems to be promising with your car. Also, keep in mind that the anchoring is done properly cause otherwise there will be no use in doing so. In the end, it’s your child’s health that matters the most.

Facts about Booster Seats for Children

• Car seats reduce the risk of death in an accident by 70%, making them one of the most effective safety tools for children.
• Booster seats are designed for kids who are too big for a front-facing car seat but too small for a seat belt alone.
• Children must be in an approved car seat with a harness before using a booster seat.
• Rear-facing seats offer extra protection for infants and some toddlers and meet rigorous safety standards.
• Front-facing harness seats can be used until children are in elementary school and meet weight and height requirements.
• Booster seats are positioning devices that raise kids up so that their upper body aligns with the shoulder belt of a standard seat belt.
• Children are ready for a booster seat once they’ve exceeded the height and weight limit for a front-facing car seat, which can go as high as 80 pounds or more.
• Boosters should always be in the back seat of a car, and children must be able to sit still and keep the seat belt in place.
• High-backed boosters offer a curved headrest that protects against head and neck injuries and have adjustable belt-positioning loops.
• States have specific laws about when children can stop using booster seats, but the CDC recommends using them until the seat belt fits without the extra height of the booster, typically when children are 4’9″ tall.