A seat anchoring element for child safety seats or baby carriers has an anchoring element which can be secured to fixation elements on the vehicle seat, or to the vehicle body, by connectors at the ends of a separate strap system. The seat anchoring element comprises at least one front and rear securing element on the upper face for fixing the child safety seat or the baby carrier thereto, and least one tensioning device for those parts at the ends of which the connectors are located. The straps of the strap system can be wound onto a ratchet spool of the tensioning device and can be unwound after a locking mechanism of the ratchet is unlocked. A lever mounted pivotably with the seat anchoring element is coupled with the ratchet, wherein the bearing axis of the lever runs transversely to the longitudinal axis of the seat anchoring element.