Like Carrie said, if your main concern is truly safety, you wouldn't turn her FFing. You've already stated that your main concern is perceived convenience. Which, hey, is fine, at 3.5, FFing is not an unsafe choice. But it's disingenuous to say your top concern is safety, and to then say which of these 2 less safe options is better? In that scenario, there is no statistical safety difference between properly installed FFing seats. I would choose whichever one she likes better and says is more comfortable. A happy 3 year is always better than a grumpy one
It is not disingenuous and I apologize if I misrepresented what I meant. My main concern between the two seats
is safety. I realize that when the seat is used properly, they are supposed to be equally safe, but each seat has features that allow, in theory, safety advantages and disadvantages. My question was in respect to which feature seems like the bigger safety advantage: The deep shell of the EFTA or the Safe Stop of the RN. I wanted to clarify that my question was not in respect to comfort, installation ease (assuming both would install properly), buckling mechanisms, head slouch, etc.
I know that she could probably go another 6 months rearfacing, but adding a baby to the mix, I know things are going to be crazy for a while. Having her be able to help with the baby instead of me being distracted while driving seems like a reasonable position to me. I know from experience I have a hard time tuning out a crying baby. I get anxious, agitated and want to stop it. That plus sleep deprivation
could be a bad combo.
I know FF is less safe, but there is no reason that I can't try to make the best choice between the two seats with respect to safety. In fact, it's all the more reason to choose the best seat, if there could be one, IMO.