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does your child need a light on all night?

9 replies

queenrollo · 22/01/2007 19:59

ds (18 months) has always had a lamp on all night......i was thinking about getting a much dimmer one as the one he has is quite bright, and obviously eventually get him to sleep in a dark room.

none of my friends children have a light on through the night and to be honest it has only recently occurred to me that maybe we ought to have a plan of action to get him used to sleeping without his lamp.

has anyone got any advice or suggestions as to how i should deal with this?

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itsmeNDP · 22/01/2007 20:07

Could you stagger it, rather than losing the lamp completely immediately. Maybe swap the bulb in the lamb for a lower wattage, then move to a plug in nightlight. Then onto a light on the landing, then a nightlight on the landing. Gradually reduce the amount of light in the room over a period of a few months to give him time to adjust.

In answer to your question, DD (now 4.5) has always needed pitch black to sleep. However, the DSs, now teenagers, still like to have their door ajar with their landing light on.

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Sheraz · 22/01/2007 20:10

DS 1&2 aged 4 and 6 have a nightlight - if it's not affecting his sleep do you need to get rid of it? Mine don't like it if they wake up for the loo in the night and it is dark?

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scatterbrain · 22/01/2007 20:11

My dd (6) has a nightlight - I don't like the dark dark either so I will be in no hurry to take it away from her.

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Surfermum · 22/01/2007 20:14

DD always has the light off, but likes to go to sleep with the landing light on. We turn it off when we go to bed.

Have you ever tried him without the lamp on?

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LittleSarah · 22/01/2007 20:15

My dd (2.9) has never had a night light, just never got one.

But I don't see it as a big deal if they do have one.

(She is okay when she wakes in the dark, she just puts her lamp on)

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beansprout · 22/01/2007 20:17

We have a light on in the next room, which means it's not too dark in ds's room. There is also a small night light on the baby monitor which we call the "mummy light" and he seems to find that comforting. I never liked the dark, so I don't have a problem with this.

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queenrollo · 22/01/2007 20:21

he's woken up before when we've had a power cut and been very upset at the dark......
to be honest i'm not in a hurry to get him to sleep without a light but as none of my friends children use them i was wondering whether i should tackle it now.
i remember as a child always leaving my bedroom door open a little for some light.
i'll look for a new lamp for him as the one we have in there is an old one of ours, and get one that isn't quite as bright. we do have some for the plug socket but they are rubbish to be honest!!

thankyou i feel reassured that i'm not some wierdo who lets my child sleep with a light on!!

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Jelley · 22/01/2007 20:23

DDs are 6 & 7 and have a side light on all night, plus the bathroom light. DD1 is scared of the dark, and when I used to go and turn off the light as I went to bed, she would wake up and turn it on again, so I don't bother any more. (She will not go into the bathroom unless the light is on, just stand in the doorway and call until someone gets up and turns it on for her.