Sometimes we do something and have no idea what the long term consequences might be.

I took the Child Passenger Safety Certification Course in 1998. It was one of the original courses offered and I traveled all the way from Louisiana to Texas to be one of the first people to get certified to correctly install and check car seats.

As a certified child passenger technician and instructor, working in injury prevention, I frequently hear this question. Not surprising, given tight household budgets and the constantly increasing costs of raising children.

First, let’s look at the things that rule out using secondhand seats, then we can better determine when it’s okay.

The worst news you can hear involves the death of a child. It's only more upsetting when that death might have been prevented.

This spring, Nedao Abdelghani of Bridgeview, IL died after a relative backing out of a driveway backed over him. He was three years old.