WASHINGTON -- Federal highway safety officials have met with automakers, car seat manufacturers and safety experts to discuss ways of improving child safety seats.

Survey: Child Seats Made Easier?

Participants in the meeting said the variety of car seats and installation methods has led to confusion. And safety advocates worry that too few parents know how to properly install seats or understand the safety benefits.

The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nicole Nason, said the government will pursue an education campaign this year to improve the public's understanding of car seats, upgrade its consumer ratings system for the seats and issue new rules to improve the system.

"Properly installing a car seat should not be a daunting process for parents," Nason said. "Our children are precious and parents and caregivers must have the information they need to properly install their car seats."

In December, Nason called for the summit after a new survey conducted by NHTSA found that many parents were unaware of either the existence or the importance of a new system of anchors built into newer vehicles, and specifically designed to hold and anchor car seats.

The summit will focus on how to increase the correct use of these so-called Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) systems, which come standard in vehicles made after 2002.

Nason said one of the key goals of the meeting is to make sure parents and caregivers have clear guidance on proper car seat and LATCH use, whether from the car seat manufacturer, vehicle owner’s manual or the retailer. In addition, the NHTSA is looking into ways to improve its ease-of-use ratings, as well as mandatory child seat safety performance, she said.

"We want to make children as safe as possible, give the best information and make the technology available to protect children in vehicles," Nason said.

The meeting came less than a month after Consumer Reports retracted a report on infant car seats. Government officials said crash tests on the seats were conducted at drastically higher speeds than the magazine had asserted.