What is the primary purpose of using a tether with a car seat?

The primary purpose of using a tether with a car seat is to limit movement of the car seat during a crash, which significantly enhances the child’s safety. When a tether is properly attached to a vehicle’s designated anchor point, it helps stabilize the car seat, reducing the amount of forward movement during a collision. This is crucial because it keeps the car seat in place, ensuring that the child remains correctly positioned and protected by the car seat’s safety features.

While preventing ejection in a crash is important, that aspect is more directly related to the safety features of the car seat as a whole, rather than solely the function of the tether. The tether’s role is primarily to minimize the risk of the seat moving too far, which in turn helps to keep the child secure within the seat. Boosters, while they do not use tethers, are designed for slightly different purposes, mainly to position the seat belt correctly across the child’s body. Comfort is also not the focus of a tether's design; its main function is to enhance safety through stability.