The best night lights for kids
Night lights can make a huge difference to a child’s bedroom, especially to those who struggle to sleep at night. The best night lights for kids offer just enough light to chill in the room and play, but are dim enough to help your child drift off to sleep.
So, if you’re thinking about decorating, don’t forget about night lights because while it’s easy to pick out princess wallpaper or superhero rugs, the right night lights can be a mystery for parents. If you’re struggling to find the right bulbs or lamps, this article might help. We’ll go through all the different types of night lights available and how to use them too. So stay tuned on how we chose the best night lights for kids and bundled it all up into this article for you.
Why night lights? Do kids need a night light?
Do kids sleep better with a night light? The truth is, plenty of children struggle to sleep at night because of their fear of the dark, so if yours has been coming into your bed at night because they’re scared, then you’re not alone. A night light can encourage children to sleep alone and help them get more rest.
Night lights come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, with some playing music or offer changing colour options as well. If you’re wondering what to look for in a night light for kids, then don’t worry because we’ve got you covered below!
Are night lights safe for kids?
Light is the signal to the brain to wake up, therefore studies have shown that lights as low as 5 lux (the equivalent of 5 candles burning one foot away) can affect the child’s circadian rhythm (internal clock), which is generally longer or shorter than 24 hours.
To align ourselves with the 24-hour day/night cycle we rely on light to reset our internal clock. So if we introduce a night light into the child’s room, your child’s internal clock may misinterpret the light as daytime and cause wakeful periods at night.
Therefore it’s advised that you shouldn’t introduce a night light into your child’s room unless you either need to move safely around the room or your child is afraid of the dark. Work at eventually removing the night light and promoting a dark room so your child is woken by the light outside and not the artificial light in their room.
What is the best colour night light for sleeping?
Red light is by far the best light for inducing sleep because it doesn’t disrupt your child’s circadian rhythm. So switching from the blue light of a screen to the red light of a night light a few hours before bed will help your child fall asleep faster and easier.
The different types of night lights
So night lights work to help you move around safely, help kids who are afraid of the dark and work to ease them into sleep. But what kind of night lights are there that encompass all these features? Here are some examples below:
LED strips
LED strips are an incredibly versatile lighting solution and can bring a lot of joy to children. Consider adding a warm white LED strip around the mirror to not only bring fun in the room, but brighten up dark areas while getting ready for bed. They’re very versatile and can be added anywhere in the room.
Custom neon signs
What child wouldn’t love to see their name written in lights, especially at night? Custom neon signs can help you personalise the lighting in your child’s room. Whether you decide to spell out their name or light up the first letter, a custom neon sign is the best way to do it.
However, if you’re trying to decorate on a budget and custom neon signs are a little out of your budget, you could try to make your own with neon tubes or a DIY kit. Just turn it off before bed or switch to red light for a soothing light before sleep.
Desk light
As your child grows, they’ll be doing more and more homework independently. But, sometimes they’ll want to read before bed. It’s important for them to have the space to do this that’s well-lit, but also relaxing. If you’re thinking of getting them a desk, make sure you get a quality desk light to go with it.
Some desk lights can even be fitted with colour-changing bulbs which can switch from day to night light, helping them to focus on any artwork or crafting project they might have to do, then switch to bedtime reading mode to induce sleep. Make sure their desk light is easy to move around and doesn’t pose any risks to their well-being – some lamps can get very hot, so always tell your child to be careful.
Projectors
Projectors are devices which project images onto your child’s bedroom to create a relaxing environment to help kids sleep. A good night light projector should work to make your child feel comfortable enough to sleep and can also be used as a decorative piece to transform the room into a colourful room of stars, planets, animals or whatever your child is fond of.
The best night light with projections include the Jozo Nightlight for Kids Star Projector which is a multifunctional rotational starry sky projector night light that calms kids and babies at night. You can also remove the lampshade and it transforms the bedroom into a starry sky. You have a timer function too so the light closes automatically by the set time.
The best projecting nightlights can include an adorable night light projector with soothing tunes like the RTOSY Stars and Moons NightLight and Projector* which offer a beautiful 3D starry night light projection with timer setting, remote control, rotation function, music play, mini built-in speaker, TF card slot with SD card, LED light bulbs and lots of colour options too!
Multi-purpose night lights
Multi-purpose night lights aren’t just night lights – they can also be an alarm clock, a radio or even a humidifier too!
The best humidifier night light combo is A CoolMist Humidifier Night Light which doubles up as a humidifier and a night light – perfect for dry rooms or kids who are a bit congested.
Another multi-purpose nightlight for children includes the Fridababy in Sound Machine Air Purifier And Night Light* which offers a baby sound machine of sleep sounds, a colour nightlight, an adjustable fan and a HEPA filter which removes smoke, odours and pollution from the air.
How to choose a night light for kids
Before you choose a night light for kids you should think about the room in which the night light will sit. A night light can be suited to the room’s theme or to a particular hobby your child likes. For example, if your child likes all things space, you could consider buying some space-themed string night lights to place around the room or even a magical lunar night light with a realistic moon surface. There are so many around these days the only difficulty you’ll have is selecting one for your child.
The best night lights for kids and the baby’s nursery
You could find a a mobile night light that’s perfect for babies and toddlers, but the best nightlights for babies include soft lights and music and a lovely visual aid to help babies drift to sleep. The best night light for babies also include soft material and something which they can squeeze or keep as a pal.
The best night lights for kids in the UK
The best kids night light in the UK according to Amazon UK is the MUID LED Nursery Slug Night Light for Kids*. which is a very cute soothing night light from LumiPets and offers soft colours – it’s the perfect baby lamp, toddler night light or kids night light for bedrooms and nurseries. It has convenient on/off controls that can be operated by the kids and can last up to 15 hours with the rechargeable battery.
The best budget-friendly night light – best value night light
The night light with the best bang for the buck and the best energy-conserving Munchkin Light My Way Night Light* costs just over £20 and provides a comforting glow at bedtime. It’s portable, cord free and lasts up to 20 hours with a 20-minute timer that automatically turns off the light to save energy.
What is the best night light with sound machine?
The best night lights with sound machines include the Hatch Rest Baby Sound Machine Night Light* which is a multi-functional nightlight with sound machine and a time-to-rise alert which you can control from your phone. With the Hatch Rest Night Light and Smart Sound Machine, you can customise colour, brightness, sound and volume level which can be set into programmes based on your family’s sleep schedule.
The best sound machine and night light combo should work hand in hand to help ease your child to sleep with minimal interruptions to their circadian rhythm.
The best travel kids nightlights
Other questions asked were:
- Which night light is best for travel?
The Tommee Tippee 2-in-1 Portable Penguin Nursery Night light with Portable Egg Light* is a super cute portable penguin where you can detach the egg light from its base and move it around with you. The egg is soft and squishy too – perfect for little hands!
Best night light for toddlers
Other questions asked were:
- What is the best night light for a toddler?
- Best nightlights for toddlers?
- Best nightlight for toddler?
- Best toddler night lights?
- Night light with timer for toddlers?
- Are night lights good for toddlers?
The Tommee Tippee 2-in-1 Portable Penguin Nursery Night light with Portable Egg Light* has also been pegged as the best night light for toddlers, thanks to it’s durability and soft material.
Best kids nightlights with alarms
The Sunrise Alarm Clock Wake Up Light* is a simple alarm clock light which gradually increases from 10% to 100% over 60 minutes. The colour changes from red to bright sunlight and then the light will gently dim from 100% to 0% before bedtime.
The best nightlight with timer?
Other questions asked were:
- Best night light with timer?
- What’s the best for older kids?
The best night light with timer is the LittleHippo Mella Ready*, which is one of the best night lights for kids to help them sleep in. MELLA uses colours and facial expressions to teach your kids when it’s time for bed and when it’s time to wake up. Half an hour before wake up, MELLA will glow yellow. When it’s time to wake up, it turns green.
MELLA also features three sleep sound options and five night light colours to help soothe your child to sleep. It also has three alarm sounds and a silent countdown for timed activities for older children.
Here are some other awarded night lights to look at:
Best touch-based control – Asani Night Light for Kids
The Asani Night Light for Kids* comes with simple fun-to-use touch controls. You can touch the head to turn the lamp on and off and it’s 100% baby safe.
Other night lights to look at:
- Cloud b Twilight Unicorn NightLight Soother
- JolyWell Nursery NightLight for Kids
- Nuby Night Light Fox
- GE colourChanging LED Night Light
- Amazon Echo Glow Multicolour Smart Lamp for Kids
- Jasco Projectables Six Image LED PlugIn Night Light
- YogaSleep Travel Mini Sound Machine with Night Light
- Pottery Barn Kids Unicorn Nightlight
- Easuntec D Dinosaur NightLight
- GE Automatic LED PlugIn NightLight
- Ikea night light
The best overall night light for affordability
The best night light overall for all budgets is the YuanDian Cute Duck Night Light*. It’s very affordable at just under £20 and is BPA-free and soft to touch. Pinch or tap to switch to the right brightness and you can even toss it around without breaking it.
Our favourite projection night light – The best night lights for kids of all ages
Our favourite night light which we’ve used on the boys is the Lumie Bedbug* which has a fully adjustable lighting specially for bedtime and sleep, a bedside light which avoids stimulation during the bedtime routine and a sunset realistic colour change which naturally fades to off. It’s worked really well on my boys and helped to promote safe and secure sleep.
Getting the best night light for kids is tough, but luckily, the lighting you choose doesn’t have to be forever. You can always swap and change night lights as your child grows and develops, so don’t worry too much – just get started.
FAQ
What is the best night light for a child?
Other questions asked were:
- What is the best night light for kids?
- Best nightlight for kids?
- Best kids night lights?
- Best nightlights for kids?
- Which is the brightest night lamp?
- Best children’s lamp with night light?
- What is the best night light for 6 year old?
- The best night light for toddler afraid of the dark?
- The best night light for child afraid of dark?
- What lights are best for children’s bedroom?
The best night light should not interrupt your child’s circadian rhythm by being too bright and work to help your child ease into night time safely without them relying on it too much.
What’s the best with music?
Other questions asked were:
- Best night light with music?
Some other cool nightlights for kids that offer music includes the Skip Hop Moonlight Melodies Nightlight Soother Owl* which transforms your child’s room into a sparkling night sky. Extra features include a sound machine which features four melodies and four nature sounds to help keep your toddler or baby sound asleep.
The best remote control night light?
The best night light with remote is the OPEKER Galaxy Projector with Colourful Nebulae,Star Projector Night Light with Remote Control* which projects colourful nebula images, controlled by either the button on the backpack or the remote control.
The best animal night light?
The LumiPets Nursery Bear Night Light* is a cute little LumiPet with nine different soft colours, including the red light for optimum sleep. The LumiPets Bear Kids Night Light is also a great portable night light too and will last all day in the car or on the plane (up to 12 hours of battery life). Little ones can choose from a Lumipets Jumbo Bear Kids NightLight, bunny, owl or unicorn as their best new sleeping animal friend. It comes with an affordable price of just under £40 too.
What colour night light is best for kids?
Other questions asked were:
- What colour night light is best for sleeping?
- What colour night light is best for toddlers?
- What colour night light is best for children?
- What colour night light is the best for kids?
- What colour LED light is best for sleeping?
- What is the best choice of colour to set on an RGB LED lighting as a night light?
Find a night light which has a red or amber light as they don’t disrupt your child’s sleep. The best colour however is red light.
Should you let kids sleep with the lights on?
Other questions asked were:
- Are night lights good for children?
- Do babies need a light on at night?
Lights can disrupt the circadian rhythm because it sends signals to the brain to stay awake. It’s best to use a red night light and gradually work to take this away when your child is ready and/or no longer afraid of the dark.
Is it safe to use fairy lights in a child’s bedroom?
Other questions asked are:
- Can night lights cause fires?
As long as you use LED lights then it should be fine to use fairy lights and keep them on as the bulbs don’t contain filaments that could burn out.
What is the plug in night light for kids?
Other questions asked were:
- Best plugin night light?
- best plug-in night lights?
A plugin nightlight uses a light sensor cell which automatically switches the light on at dusk and off at dawn via the power source with no need for changing any bulbs.
The Projectables LED PlugIn Night Light* projects a motion image of the northern lights onto the wall or ceiling and uses a dusk-to-dawn sensor to automatically turn the night light on and off for efficiency.
What is the safest night light?
Red lights are the safest lights to use as a night light and LED lights.
Best plush night light?
The best plush night light is the Summer Infant Slumber Buddies* which creates a calm environment and makes for the perfect sleeping buddy thanks to it’s soft plushy feel. It also plays relaxing songs and sounds and can put on a dreamy lightshow. The automatic timer comes with a 15, 30 and 45-minute auto-shut off and has a 3-level volume control.
When should I give my child a night light?
Other questions asked were:
- Are there any benefits to night lights for kids?
You should try to help your child sleep without a night light, but if they are afraid of the dark or need some help to build on their sleep hygiene, then a night light can work as a happy medium to helping your child feel comfortable to go to sleep.
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