Nightlight?

[HollyC255552]

I'm thinking of looking into getting a nightlight for my DD when she moves into her own room in January time. Does anyone recommend any in particular or are they not really recommended? Thanks!

You don't say how old she is? In my experience with my children being scared of the dark doesn't begin until between the ages of about 2 and 3 years old. Up until that age, pitch black is actually better for aiding restful sleep.

When the age does come where being scared of the dark begins, I find plug in night lights pointless (due to plug positions in bedrooms) and bedside night lights are right in the childs face.

I find investing in a dimmer switch (easy to fit cheap to buy in B&Q) a better option. This allows you to dim the main overhead light right down low. Produces good general covering of light all over the room, no dark corners, while not creating an area of any bright light.

Thanks Fate. She is 6 months old - we currently do have a dimmer switch in her room but was wondering if a nightlight would be better or more suitable, i.e. maybe if i need to get up in the night to see to her or locate her dummy etc. If pitch black is better for a restful sleep then i dont really want to disrupt that.

Am so sorry I ever started the night light thing! DD now 6 and really needs it, nightmare when staying elsewhere. I did it to avoid killing self whilst be in the night for those first few months. Wish I had never started!!

Do you sleep in pitch black yourself? Your eyes do adjust. I can see quite well in a very dark room. Maybe I just eat too many carrots

I solve the dummy run thing by attaching the dummy to the sleeping bag. I have ribbon sewn onto the chest of all my sleeping bags, with a press stud sewn at the end. I keep a dummy permanently attached to this.

This means when baby is young, it is easy for me to find the dummy. As baby gets older, they soon learn an easy way to find their own dummy:- hand sweeping movement under chin finds the ribbon, which in turn leads to dummy.

I have also not moved my children into their own room until 9 months or so, by which time they can find their own dummy (as explained above) and so the dummy runs stop anyway.

That said, there are still occasional trips into baby's room at night. On the whole I try to sort out what is needed using just the light coming through the bedroom door from the landing when I go in (I have older children so the bathroom light is always left on through the night - so casts some light onto landing). If I need more light than this, I dim the main light low and switch it on, which just gives enough to sort out whatever the issue is.

My 2 never had a nightlight, I would leave hall light on so I could see where I was going for night feeds or if they woke in the night etc.
But now ds1 needs a night light for fear of ghosts getting him... Ds2 would still rather sleep in pitch black but doesn't get much of an option since they share! Usually results in ds2 being in my bed to relax in the dark lol.

Thanks all...i think that pretty much solves it. I dont think one will be needed, i can just use the landing or her main dimmer.

No night lights here either for 6yro old or 20mo - rooms pretty much pitch black like ours. Also don't have landing or bathroom lights on. If the eldest needs the loo he has a little wind up torch he uses. Traditional lights are actually really bad for sleep, read this if interested -

sarahockwell-smith.com/2015/03/19/one-simple-way-to-improve-your-baby-or-child-sleep/

We've got a monitor - a reasonably basic BT one - which projects stars and moons onto the wall. My son likes to look at them when he falls asleep and we can turn them off using the monitor handset. He also has a gro-clock, which isn't strictly a night light but does shine blue (until it turns yellow which is the signal he can get up).