Night Light or Not

Totally not necessary. Especially if he is already adjusted to sleeping in the dark. Our kids both went into the crib in the nursery with NO nightlight from day one, and we never changed it. There has always been a "nightlight" over the stove in the kitchen though... and it is sufficient for ANYone who needs to get up during the night.

If you introduce the nightlight now, because YOU think it would be good/fun/helpful then you are just asking for issues later on... when you travel are you going to always pack a nightlight? What if it burns out and you don't have a replacement bulb.. are you prepared for a meltdown over something like that at bedtime some night when you are least prepared?

Why introduce the issue?

Also, it has been shown that ANY lights in the room, disrupt sleep and sleep cycles... including those glaring digital clocks. :(

If you want to put a nightlight or two along the walk he would have to make during the night to your bedside if he felt ill, then that is a different matter altogether.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.,
We have a night light in our son's room that he LOVES!! It automatically goes on when it gets dark and it changes colors. I don't remember the brand and I'm not sure where it's from because my father-in-law bought it. But it came in a multi pack, so I would guess he bought it at Cosco. Good luck!

I choose to use lighting because I want to be able to look in and check on the kids. In K's room we strung Christmas lights around her ceiling and turn them on at bedtime. We used plain white tiny sized. My BFF strung up multi colored in her daughters room and changes them out with solid colors at different times of the year. With J we just used a lighted candy cane from Christmas, it's on top of a shelf so he really doesn't see the cane but just the light.

Another reason we choose to have lighting is the kids get up during the night to potty or find us and we don't want them being confused or getting upset because they can't get oriented. Hardly a night goes by that one or the other, sometimes even both, crawl in bed with us. I tellyou, sometimes I wake up so tired...LOL. My husband and K are restless sleepers and J sleeps like me, like a log and doesn't move all night.

My husband and I keep our room very dark--even taping over lights on our smoke detectors and appliances. Since both of our boys stayed in our room for 6 months to a year, they were used to all dark. Sometime around 2 1/2 years, my older boy started insisting that one of the lights be on in his room. We have a table lamp with a night light bulb in it, and keep that on for him at night. If I sneak in and turn it off, he sometimes wakes up and screams until it is on again. He is a very sound sleeper, and his little brother has gotten used to the dim light in the room at night. If your child does not seem to need or want a night light, I would say not to bother. :)

skip the night light. I did. My son never had one and turned two without a night light. He slept fine. Then my mom bought a glow globe and he won't go to sleep with out. I wish I never got that thing. I would just skip it and wait and see if he wants one when he is older.

If he needs it use it if not don't bother. I recently saw on the news that "sleep studies" have proven that too much light can cause people to not get the deep sleep that we need. They even mentioned night lights as being too much light depending on where in the room they are located. Ie: if the light shines directly on the persons face. I have a ni their faces. Just my opinion!

If it is already working that he does not need the light, then I say "if it's not broke, then don't fix it."
I think the night light is more for us too in case we have to go in to check on them. This way you don't have to put a big light in and disturb your little one.

I know exactly how you feel about separation. I HATED when we finally put our daughter in her own room in her crib. We had her sleeping in our room in her own portacrib until she was 18 months.
And to this day, I will find any excuse I can to sleep in her room on the futon.
My husband loves her and misses her being in our room as much as I do. He checks on her all the time during the night too you can't help it..you just fall in love with them so ;)

Good luck and congrats on baby #2!
God Bless
P.

My daughter is two and she is in her own room and I think it can be scary, remember being in your own room and being fearful of the closet. I have a small fish tank aquarium that gives off light and used that as the night light. So I think till he is used to being in the room by himself I would use a night light that gives off minimal light enough that they can see their surroundings.

I really don't think there is a wrong or right with night lights. We started using a night light when our daughter was sick so that we could look in on her without turning on a bright light. Walmart has a nice choice. We picked the Aurora borealis one because our daugther likes the different colors, they also have ones that shows planets or fish. Of course you can also get plain white ones.

My suggestion is to play it by ear. If he needs one in a few months, then let him have it. If he's still good without one, then great! I've read that fear of the dark and/or night terrors can start around 2 years of age, at which point, some toddlers are comforted by a night light - so it's possible he might want one soon. Either way, whatever helps him sleep better is a good thing :)

We have nightlights in both of our kids rooms, in the hallway and in our bedroom.

It seems like overkill most of the time, but our 3 year old is now deathly afraid of the dark. That's a whole different issue we're working on. I would say, though, that your 19 month-old is going to go through a few phases of sleep disruption over the next couple of years.

Our 3.5 year-old gets out of his bed EVERY night no matter what we do to keep him in there. So, the nightlights keep him calm as he walks into our room.

I think it's a matter of personal preference. The fear of the dark didn't happen until about 3-4 months ago which prompted a few of the extra night lights to help him deal with it (along with keeping the blinds in his room open).

Good luck.

We decided to do the night light with our daughter and don't regret it. It allows her to get out of bed safely if she ever needs to use the restroom, so that's why we chose to have the night light.

It totally depends on each situation. I would say, like others, if he is ok without it you probably don't need it. I think the less sleep "crutches" we can give, the better...that said, our 2 1/2 year old has been sleeping with one since about 18 mo., but she asked for it... said it was too dark. She is also one that needs time to settle down...she often lays in her bed and sings, etc. for up to an hour sometimes!! so to just leave her in the dark wouldn't seem right! I think the soft light helps her to wind down slowly and eventually fall asleep peacefully...