Question new seat for 3.5 year old after accident

[Unregistered]

I'm having a seat dilemma and could use some input! I scraped the side of my vehicle against one of those yellow cement posts in a parking lot. Not a lot of damage, but enough that the passenger sliding door won't open and will have to be replaced.

My daughter wasn't in the car, but her seat was in the middle row passenger side captain chair and insurance will cover the cost of the seat. She turned 3.5 last month and is currently RFing in an ETA (the older version, not the newer 65 one). She's only 32 pounds but getting close to the 1-inch of shell limit for height. So she'll probably be flipped FF in our other vehicle (another ETA seat) very soon.

So do I use the insurance money toward a FFing harness-to-booster seat instead of another convertible (we *love* our ETAs!)? If she was even 6 months younger, it'd be no question that I'd get another convertible, but she's just as close to 4 now as 3. Making it to 3.5 was always the RFing goal, but now that it's here, it's hard to really think about turning her! So, convertible or FFing seat? And what should I consider?

 

[MaKoski]

I would choose a Radian120 or RXT for RF. If you choose to FF I'd say a Frontier85.

 

[babyherder]

At your dd's size I'd get a radian and rf. The radian should last until she's ready for a booster.

 

[kathysr98]

I would also choose the Radian. Beyond the basic safety issue, which you are obviously aware of, many children don't like being turned FF. I turned my dd at a little over 4, but she asked to be RF again, and will be until she changes her mind or outgrows the Radian. I wouldn't want to choose a less safe situation & have my child unhappy about it as well!