Car seats and booster seats aren't just meant to give children a way to ride in a vehicle when they aren't yet ready for a seat belt. They are also responsible for protecting a child in a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a child's car seat must be appropriate for their age and size. These seats help secure a child during a crash, and the seat itself must also be properly secured using anchors included in the back seat.

If a car seat is in the vehicle that is involved in a crash, you may need to replace it. Even if the seat appears undamaged, it may be compromised and less likely to protect your child if it is reused.

The car seat might not have suffered external damage, but other parts may have been harmed in the collision. Joel Feder, writing for the automotive site The Car Connection, says internal components in a car seat can be damaged in a crash. Car Seats For The Littles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating parents on selecting and using a car seat, says the seat may also have hairline fractures or other damage that is difficult to spot.

Several car seat manufacturers recommend that the seat should be replaced after any crash. However, there may be some circumstances where the car seat is unlikely to have suffered any damage and can be reused.

The NHTSA says that while car seats should be replaced after any moderate or severe crash, they can be reused after a minor collision. It defines this type of crash as one where the vehicle can be driven away from the scene, no air bag deployment occurred, no one was injured, the door closest to the car seat is undamaged, and the car seat itself has no visible damage. The seat should not be reused unless all these criteria are met.

If the crash is not considered minor, you should replace any car seats that were in the vehicle, even if they were unoccupied. CSFTL says the seats can still suffer damage in a crash even if they are not actively restraining a child.

Since car seats can be quiet expensive, parents may be tempted to reuse a compromised seat. However, your insurance company is often willing to cover the replacement cost. Feder, recounting a crash involving his wife and two children, says his insurer took down information on the car seats in the vehicle and provided reimbursement for the replacement seats he purchased.

Make sure to properly dispose of any car seat that has been involved in a moderate or severe crash. Some facilities will collect old seats for recycling. You can also take steps such as cutting the harness, breaking down the car seat, or using a marker to warn anyone who might try to salvage the seat that it is unsafe to use.