Toddler-Friendly Lighting Choices for Your Home
Everyone with young children knows that safety is a priority. It might be easy to remember simple things like strapping them into their car seat, but it’s only natural for some considerations to slip through the cracks. When it comes to your lighting choices, you should think about how appropriate they are for children. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be as tricky as you might think, as there are plenty of ways you can kit out your home to suit both you and your toddler.
Make Sure Your Home is Well Lit
If your home doesn’t have as much natural light as you’d like, then making sure it’s easy to see for little ones finding their feet is key. Trips and falls are a part of growing up, but you don’t want to make walking even harder for a child who’s trying to learn. Make sure that areas with steps or tight corners are illuminated, especially in the evenings or on dull afternoons. Check out this collection of LED spotlights that can help you target the darkest areas of your home. Simply install them in the ceiling to instantly brighten your room.
Avoid Breakable Lamps
While glass lamp shades might look beautiful, it’s best to store them away safely until your child is a little older. It’s all too easy for small hands to grab hold of a wire and send a lamp tumbling to the ground. Wireless lamps could be an option to consider, or make sure any precious pieces are stored high up and well out of reach. Hiding wires or making sure they’re all tucked away can also help to reduce the risk of accidents.
Consider a Night Light
Children often wake up in the night and might feel scared if their room is too dark. This could mean they’ll come crawling into their parents’ bed, disrupting everyone’s sleep. A night light can bring them the comfort they need to drift off again. Make sure you choose one that has a soft glow and position it away from your child’s pillow but in their line of sight. After all, you don’t want the lamp keeping them awake. Night lights are usually available in a range of fun shapes, so you could pick one that looks just like a popular cartoon character.
Outdoor Lighting
An essential for homes in more remote areas, outdoor lights again can make it less likely that your child will trip during the winter months. However, make sure the option you choose doesn’t shine into the bedrooms at night or consider switching the sensor off before you go to sleep. While a night light is likely to bring comfort, a flickering light outside a bedroom window could make sleep even harder to come by.
Show Caution with Candles
Candles can be exciting for children, but make sure you teach them the dangers of getting too close and always keep a close eye on them. Mantelpieces are often safe places to store candles and children can still enjoy them from afar.
Carla is the founder of MyBump2Baby. Carla has a huge passion for linking together small businesses and growing families. Carla’s humorous, non-filtered honesty has won the hearts of thousands of parents throughout the UK.
She has previously written for the Metro and made appearances on BBC News, BBC 5 live, LBC etc. Carla is a finalist for Blogger of the Year award with Simply Ladies inc. Carla is also the host of the popular Fifty Shades of Motherhood podcast and The MyBump2Baby Expert podcast.