Hi, my 4-year old has outgrown her Britax Roundabout, and I need to get her a booster seat this weekend. I am confused about whether to get that kind that uses the car's seatbelt (& if so, high back or low back) or the kind with a five point harness. She will be five in July, she is almost 39 pounds, and she is 44.5 inches tall. We are struggling financially, so inexpensive would be very helpful if there is not a large difference in safety. Any advice would be appreciated greatly. Thanks in advance!!
Your dd is pretty tall!
Was it a Roundabout 50 she outgrew? By height? That gives us a good idea of how tall her torso is and how much longer she'll fit in different seats. All of the combo seats Wendy mentioned have 1.5-2.5 more inches of torso growth over the Roundabout 50. Any one of those seats will probably keep her harnessed for another year or two, depending on how fast she grows. Personally, for her main seat, I'd keep her harnessed for another year if possible financially. You can spend from $30-50 more for a seat that will keep her harnessed over a high back belt positioning booster. An Evenflo Maestro has a harnessed weight limit of 50 lbs, but she's not going to gain 10 lbs in a year anyways, so it's more than adequate. And I thought the Harmony Defender 360 at Walmart for $100 was really a nice seat.
If $80-100 is too much right now, I'd look into the Harmony folding booster ($50 at Walmart), Graco Turbo booster, or Evenflo Amp highback (not the Big Kid confidence, big kid Sport is okay).
I would avoid a backless for the time being. She's tall enough that belt fit would probably be decent on most of them, but it is harder to use correctly if you end up needing the shoulder belt positioner. And a high back offers some additional support and side impact protection, plus helps them stay in position better.