Do your children sleep with the light off?

[marthamoo]

Ds1 has slept with the main overhead room light on for as long as I can remember (at least 5 years - he is almost 8). For the last few weeks ds2 (just 3) has been saying he doesn't like the dark corners of his room (he has a bedside light wich can be adjusted from bright to dim). Tonight he really kicked off about the shadows so I put the big light on and he went to sleep without a problem. So I guess I now have two children who sleep with the light on - good job I have energy saving bulbs!

Just interested to know how many other children are out there who won't sleep in the dark.

Btw, I slept with the light on til I was about 14...

[RTKangaMummy]

DS sleeps with the light Off but he usually falls asleep reading and doesn't turn off his reading lamp.

He is often still holding his book when we go upstairs to bed

He is 9 years btw.

[serenity]

DS1 (nearly 7) and DS2 (4) both have their own lights - I leave them on until they are asleep, and then go in and turn them off. If they wake in the night and are nervous, they just turn them on again! I sometimes feel I should persuade them to have the lights off before they go to sleep, but I don't think it's enough of a problem to really sweat over it

Personaly, I didn't start sleeping in the dark until I was sleeping with DH.........I always had the hall light on. Even now I get attacks of 'overimagination' where I swear there's something lurking in the shadows of the bedroom I am a big wimp.

[KateandtheGirls]

I never slept with the light on when I was growing up and now I still can't sleep if it's not dark. My 5 year old used to sleep in pitch black too when she was a baby, with no problems, but when I moved her to a big girl bed I started using a nightlight so that she could see if she woke up in the night. Now both my girls insist on a nightlight. I dont mind that at all - it is a long way from their rooms to mine and it's dark at night.

I don't think I'd be happy leaving their main lights on though. I don't know why - I've no reason to believe it's harmful. I just don't like the idea for some reason.

[KateandtheGirls]

See the second question in this article.

Or this one.

[kkgirl]

My ds1 who is nearly 11, suddenly has become afraid of the dark. He used to have a dimmer switch in his room, so that he could have a bit of light on, and then we changed his light to a more powerful one.
He is really getting worried, so I have asked dh to put dimmer switch back. I was scared of the dark as a child, well tbh I don't like the dark now much

[weightwatchingwaterwitch]

Both mine (7yo and 14 months) sleep with the light off. Ds sometimes asks me to leave the landing light on when I go downstairs so I do and turn it off when he's asleep

[hayleylou]

My ds whi is 2 normally sleeps with the light off, but recently has been playing up and wanting us to stay with him until he falls asleep, if we don't stay he screams... could he be affriad of the dark? he is not quite speaking so he cannot tell us, which is heartbreaking sometimes!!

[roisin]

Both mine (5 and 7) go to sleep and sleep with light off, but with landing light on and door open. They've always done this.

Occasionally ds1 will fall asleep reading with the light on.

[lunavix]

I still leave the hall light on....

[galaxy]

dd (2) freaks out if the light is left on in her room or on the landing. She likes the dark.

ds (12) has a wall light on an auto switch which goes off at 9:30 (he settles down to sleep at 9) but that's more force of habit than neccesity.

[Hulababy]

When DD was tiny, she always slept with the light off, but since being about 18 months she prefers to have either a night light left on, or the hall light.

As a child I grew up with the landing light being left on. As my sister was 10 years younger I didn't really sleep in the dark until I left home for uni. I did then until we were burgled one day (during the day, not at night and not when in) - about 7 years ago now. Since then I prefer a light on, as I feel more settled.

[bonym]

DD (6.5) always sleeps with a dim light on - she used to have flower lights round her bookcase until these failed, now we leave on a light-up globe that she has. It's not a bright light, just enough for her to be able to see her surroundings if she wakes up - she sometimes gets up to the loo in the night so it's good for her to be able to see where she's going. She's not happy sleeping in pitch darkness, but then I'm not keen either!

[marthamoo]

I'd rather they slept with just a night-light (I somehow don't like the idea of an overhead light either) but neither of them will be persuaded now. Thanks for the contradictory links Kate I'm not too worried about sleep problems - ds1 has slept with the light on for years and he sleeps OK. I did go out and buy a lower wattage soft-tone energy saving bulb for ds2 today though.

[puddle]

My ds slept in pitch blackness until the age of three when he suddenly wanted a light. He started waking up and coming into our room regularly too - it all co-incided with the arrival of dd. They both share a room now and, after experimenting with a couple of others we now have a very very dim blue night light. DD is already funny about the dark (she's now 2 and ds nearly 5)

[miam]

My older 2 girls have never needed a night light. But dd3 is terrified of the dark and so I leave the hall light on for her. She shares with dd4, but I do not think she minds the dark. I read somewhere that having a permanent light on during the night affects their sleep cycle - has anyone else heard of this?

[Fimbo]

My dd and ds both have nightlights. I started it tho as both went into cots in their own rooms as soon as I came out of hospital and I couldn't bear the thought of a tiny baby all alone in the dark!!

[SPARKLER1]

DDs have fairy lights on their headboards which we put on and we leave the landing light on too while they go off to sleep. When dh and I go to bed later all the lights are switched off.

[Titania]

they dont have a light on in the rooms but we have the landing light on.

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

ds1 (3.5) started to fret in the dark about 8 months ago. Now has the overhead light on its lowest dimmer setting during the night.

[marthamoo]

Miam - have a look at kate's second link. It doesn't seem to have affected ds1's sleep cycles at all but then he sleeps with the covers over gis head too - and that's a whole 'nother thread!

[bensmum3]

dd and ds1 both slept with the hallway light on until we moved 2 years ago, now our power goes off at midnight, so we decided not to keep the hall light on all evening, and they adjusted really well because they had no choice, they both have a torch under the pillow, for the emergency trip to the toilet, I was amazed at how they accepted it.ds2 was born here and can sleep with the light on or off.

[miam]

Thanks martha - should have noticed that before!!

[doggiewalker]

DS1 (11) likes to sleep in almost total darkness and asks me to close his door/turn off landing light. DS2 (9) goes to sleep with globe light on (v soft) but I turn this off when I go to bed.

So in effect they are sleeping in the dark. I love the room to be very dark for going to sleep, and hate it if I can see a chink of light through the curtains.

I'm sure it's not going to be a huge problem though marthamoo.

[nutcracker]

My Dd1 (7) has no problem with having no light on at all, but Dd2 (5) has to have a lamp on.
Several times we have tried to get her to go to sleep with0out it but she won't.

I used to sneak in and switch it off on my way to bed but she would just wake up 5 mintues later so now i leave it.

[littlemissbossy]

My older ds's are well passed the scared of the dark stage, but youngest ds, aged 4, likes a lamp on (low voltage bulb) and we switch it off as soon as he goes to sleep. Funny though that if he wakes during the night, he will go back to sleep without it