(NAPSA)—Parents want their LATCH System kids to be safe while traveling. According to a recent Evenflo study, car seat safety is top of mind among moms. Nearly 75 percent of moms are extremely concerned about car seat safety and nine out of ten moms say they are in the know when it comes to their child andcarseat safety. What parents might not know Located in rear filler panel of passenger cars, is that their cars are equipped with special tools that do keep kids safe—Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children (LATCH). LATCH is a standardized child restraint anchorage system that facilitates correct installation of car seats and allows them to be Locatedin cargo floor installed without using the vehicle’s seat belt system. LATCH as) makes the correct installation of \\ & ofstation wagons’ vans. car seats easier and avoids any confusion that might be caused by the numerous types of vehicle seat belt systems on the market today. The LATCH system was designed to makeit easier for parents to install educate themselves on LATCH; however, according to the study, when it comes to knowledge on LATCH, moms are lacking. One third of moms, whichrises to over half of moms who are pregnant, are not familiar with LATCH and instructions and vehicle owner’s It is important that parents only one out of four moms uses LATCHtoinstall child’s car seats. Momscan learn about LATCH from a variety of sources including the information guides that come with the car seats. “LATCHis one of the mostsig- nificant innovations when it comes to car seat safety and proper installation,” said Lindsay Harris, Vice President of Corporate Engineering and Quality for Evenflo. “It is critical for car seat manufacturers to make informa- tion about car seat safety very visible in both the users’ guides and on their Web sites to teach moms about LATCH.” child safety seats correctly. Wheninstalling a car seat using LATCH, Harris recommends always reading the car seat’s manual for proper use and correct installation information. Since September 1, 2002, all automobile manufacturers are required to install two sets of small barsin the rear seat of all vehicles, generally located where the vehicle seat cushion meets the seat back. All child restraint systems are required to have permanently attached hardware designed to attach to these vehicle anchorages. Together, the lower anchorages and the top tether anchorage make up the LATCH system. Car seat manufacturers’ Web sites can serve as useful resources of information on LATCH. At Evenflo’s Web site, www.evenflo.com/safetymadeeasier, you can find out how Evenflo is committed to educating moms on the benefits of LATCH as well as unlimited access to free educational tools such as car seat installation videos. A step-by-step, how- to video is available for every Evenflo car seat. Parents want fo install car seats tightly with the least amountof effort and the least likelihoodof errors. Here are some facts about LATCH: Usually provides a fighter installation than safety belts Avoidsdifficulties of using numeroustypesofseat belt hardware Works the same basic wayin all vehicles with LATCH anchorsso users only need to know one method Please visit www.eventflo.com/safetymadeeasier for more information and othertips on using LATCH. @
