I recently went from a car with lots of rear-passenger visibility (PT Cruiser) to one with much less (Pontiac G6). My 3 year old daughter is now complaining that she can’t see out the window in the back seat, and this makes rides in the car much less enjoyable for her.
I am wondering if I can put something (towels, phone books, etc) under her booster seat to boost it up a little so she can see out the windows better. I can’t find anything online that addresses this, and I’m not doing it until I find something definitive on it (I’d rahter she be safe than see out the window).
Anyone have any experience with anything like this?
You should check with your car seat’s manufacturer. Go to the website, and there should be a way to email them and ask.
My own instruction manual recommends putting rolled up towel or blankets under the car seat to bring it to level if it doesn’t sit level on it’s own, but it doesn’t mention anything about increasing the elevation. It could be fine, or it could put uncalculated stress on parts of the seat. It will definitely change the angle of the belts and attachments. Only the manufacturer will know for sure if it’s safe.
I don’t want to be a killjoy, but booster seats are only safe if they are properly installed. Proper installation needs a good fit and the vehicle seat. Sticking a pile of phone books under the booster would be a bad idea.
In some states (e.g. here in Texas) it is a legal requirement to install a booster seat in accordance with manufacturers instructions. I’m fairly sure those instructions don’t mention a pile of towels to increase ride height.
If she in a forward facing child seat, or on a booster seat?
If she is in a forward facing child seat, you might be able to shim it up with towels and not compromise her safety. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to do some crash tests. Not practical I am sure you will agree.
With a booster seat, the seat belt should ride across her hips, and over her shoulder. If you shim the seat up, it will still ride across the hips (good), but it will not be on her shoulder (very bad)
Just posting to say that I too have a Pontiac G6. I love it! As for making the ride more enjoyable for your daughter… Maybe give her a magazine or put a CD in. Other than that, I got nothin’.
She’s definitely forward facing, in a booster. There is a shoulder adjustment slot so I could keep the belt in the same spot across her shoulders and lap. I will e-mail the mfr and see.
Oh, and I enjoy the G6 as well. Got it 12/29, and it’s getting much better MPG than the PT Turbo I had before, and as a bonus, it’s quieter, smoother, and doesn’t handle like a conversion van
I just wish my daughter could enjoy it more. I really don’t want to turn her into a video addict (she watches enough TV at home, honestly) and she’d have a hard time reading a magazine at 3 years old, so we shall see.
Apart from that, I’ll just add my concern to all the others - I’d be worried that anything you put under the booster seat to shim it up might make it more liable to slipping out from under the child in the case of an accident and permitting ‘submarining’ (slipping under the belt because of inadequate or soft support from the seat).
