Question What is safest for tall 4.5-year-old?

My 4.5 year old is 44.5 inches tall and 38-39 pounds. She is in a Britax Roundabout but seems to be outgrowing it -- her shoulders are pretty much right at the top slots for the straps, and we also need the Roundabout for our toddler, who is outgrowing her Chicco Keyfit.

We are having trouble finding information on options/safety for booster seats. I read that it is "ok" to put a 4 year old into a booster seat that uses the car's seatbelt, but is a 5-pt-harness seat safer? If a 5-pt harness is safer, how much safer is it? We are currently experiencing financial difficulties, so we are hoping it is ok to go with the less expensive option of a booster that uses the car's seatbelt. And for the car-seatbelt-boosters, is there a safety difference between low-back and high-back?

Thanks in advance!!

At that age, its a lot about maturity and ability to sit with the seat belt properly positioned (over the shoulder, not down on the arm or cutting across the face and low across the lap, touching the thighs). I personally wouldn't full time booster a 4.5 year old, so I would look at combination seats. These are seats that start with a 5 pt harness and move to a belt positioning booster.

Some of them are Evenflo Maestro, Graco Nautilus and Britax Frontier 85 (going from most frugal to most expensive). There are some others that I'm just not remembering at the moment.

You are right that she is outgrowing her current seat. For a forward facing harness seat, the straps must be AT or above the child's shoulders, so she a just a little more time, unless she hits a sudden torso growth spurt...

I agree, its really hard for most 4 year olds to sit properly and leave the seatbelt alone or sit right while sleeping. Some more affordable harnessed choices are the Maestro, Harmony Defender, and SureRide (doesn't become booster but a very tall harness).
ETA: I definitely wouldn't use a backless booster. The extra support really helps new booster riders and positions the belt on them better. Of those I listed the SureRide will last the longest, but all would get her to a better age for boostering and could be handed down later.

my DD is 4.5yo and almost exactly the same size as yours, I let her ride in a highback booster in her grandma's van for short rides in town, but after 10 minutes she's all over the place and needs reminded to stay in place. There's no real solid evidence for a child over 4 years and 40 lbs as to whether a booster or harness is safer, assuming the child stays in proper position 100% of the time, including sleeping and being sick, or being difficult (cuz 4yos do that ) If you are willing to train her on proper booster behavior and feel that she is mature enough to maintain her position, than a booster is acceptable.
I, personally, would not even consider a no back booster for a child that size, it'd be unlikely that you'll get an ideal belt fit, and having the back acts like a physical reminder to her of where she needs to be. For her size a graco turbo booster is a good choice ($50) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Highback-Turbo-Booster-Car-Seat-Ladessa/21192340,if you want to keep her harnessed I would suggest the evenflo maestro ($80, harnesses to 50lbs, usually outgrown as a highback booster close to same time the harness is outgrown so a dedicated booster would need to be bought down the road) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Evenflo-Maestro-Combination-Booster-Car-Seat-Adele/19414746,or if you can swing it, the harmony defender ($100, harnesses to 65lbs, converts to highback, then backless booster) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Harmony-Defender-360-3-in-1-Convertible-Car-Seat/22796374

D&L's-mommy said:

There's no real solid evidence for a child over 4 years and 40 lbs as to whether a booster or harness is safer, assuming the child stays in proper position 100% of the time, including sleeping and being sick, or being difficult (cuz 4yos do that )

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^^ This bears repeating. Partly because it's a rare 4 year old who will sit properly in a booster, and partly because your 4 year old is not yet 40 lbs.

If your child were over 40 lbs and you said the child never sleeps in the car and always sits extremely still and is very obedient and is not prone to tantrums, then I would say either choice was a safe one.

You didn't really say anything about your child's temperament, but really she is only barely old enough and not quite big enough in my book so I would strongly encourage you to get her a harnessed car seat.

The Evenflo Maestro seems to be running around $80 right now. I don't immediately see any great bargains on it.

If you have a Kohl's Card, you can get an Evenflo SureRide for about $70 + tax if you use a 30% coupon code. I think the code is SHOPNSAVE right now; current codes are usually available on retailmenot.com .

These are probably the options I'd suggest. I'd go with the SureRide I think because it's cheaper and although it doesn't convert to a booster you have a younger child to pass it down to. I presume the Roundabout is probably 3.5-4 years old so at some point before your younger child is done needing it, it will expire. The SureRide will give you the flexibility with the younger child of using it either RF or FF when your older child is fully ready to move into a booster (which I'd estimate will be in about a year).

If both of these are a real financial hardship for you, you might try contacting your local health department or Safe Kids coalition. Some areas have free or reduced-cost seats available. In fact, the Evenflo SureRide is starting to make its way into some giveaway programs. Depending on your state law (in my state we would not give a booster to a child under 40 lbs because it would be against the law for the child to use it) and funds availability your child may or may not qualify, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.