Your baby’s safety is of the utmost importance and with all the hubbub about nursery nightlights possibly causing myopia (near sightedness) in babies, many parents are rightfully concerned.

Why is there all this talk about nursery nightlights used in babies rooms before the age of 2 causing myopia later in life? I think it is a good thing to have all the facts, so that is the purpose of this article.

In 1999 a study was performed in Philadelphia by an ophthalmologist. His findings were the first, and only, that led to this scare. Since his case study, if you can call it that…many more studies have been done, all of them finding that genetics cause near sightedness and not a lit nursery. I am going to display here an excerpt from the news report from CBS on the initial reporting of this first study. You can take a look for yourself at CBS News Reporting On Nursery Light Leading To Myopia

(CBS)  A new study, published in the journal Nature, reports that children who sleep with a night light or other artificial light in their room until the age of two have a higher incident of nearsightedness – also known as myopia — as they get older, CBS News Health Consultant Dr. Bernadine Healy reports.

The Philadelphia researchers asked the parents of 479 children who had been patients at the doctors’ eye clinic to recall the lighting conditions in the youngsters’ bedrooms between birth and age 2.

A total of 172 of the children slept in darkness; 10 percent developed nearsightedness. A total of 232 slept with a night light; 34 percent had become nearsighted. An additional 75 slept with a lamp on; 55 percent developed myopia.

Ophthalmologist Dr. Graham Quinn, the study’s lead author, acknowledged the study does not conclusively demonstrate that low light cause myopia, but he urged parents to provide sleeping infants and toddlers with a dark bedroom — within reason.

In my opinion this study had several flaws, most importantly, not taking heredity into account. The next biggest flaw is that this study was based purely on parents answers and there is no accounting for times that the baby was in the sun without eye protection. From the basis of this study, it is obviously important to keep a sleeping baby’s eyes guarded while sleeping in the daylight, but this factor was never accounted for in any way. I am not discounting the idea that a baby’s eyelids are thin and their eyes need protection, but this whole study seems to be nothing more than a scare tactic, and other studies have been done to find this one completely inconclusive to date. Two studies were done to immediately dispute the findings of the Philadelphia study. Here is the article taken from Faculty Washington Edu.

Two studies (both published in Nature, March 9, 2000) show that using nightlights may NOT contribute to nearsightedness. In the first study, scientists studied 1,220 children (median age, 10.2 years old). The number of children who were nearsighted was approximately the same in different lighting conditions: 20% of the children (84 of 417 children) who slept in darkness were nearsighted; 16.8% of the children (128 of 758 children) who slept with a nightlight before they were two years old were nearsighted; 22.2% of the children (10 of 45 children) who sleep with the room lights on were nearsighted.

The studies appear to contradict the earlier study and suggest that using a nightlight does NOT contribute to nearsightedness. Rather, these data suggest that nearsightedness is related to something inherited from parents. Two reasons may explain the differences between the results of the old and new research:
truthfully? Future research may provide us with more certain answers.

Is this conclusive evidence that nursery nightlights are completely safe for babies under 2 years of age? I do not think it is conclusive in either direction, and should be looked at as a precautionary idea. Parents need not worry themselves about their baby’s safety as long as they are willing to take a few precautionary measures.


1)Keep any source of light in your nursery behind the head of the crib, this will eliminate any chance of light shining directly into your baby’s eyes while sleeping.
2)Your nursery nightlights should put off a soft glow and not glaring light.
3)Make sure that if light comes through baby’s window, that the head of the crib is towards this light source, probably not a bad idea to do this if the sun shines directly through the window also. This way baby must turn around in crib to ever have direct light in eyes.
4)A barrier at the head of the crib will eliminate much direct light, but may cause you to need another light source when looking for a lost pacifier or bottle in the middle of the night.

To get back to the question “are nursery nightlights safe for babies under 2 years of age?” I think the answer is an unequivocal YES! I do believe you need to take precautions, but I believe the precautions that need to be taken with nursery nightlights are probably quite a bit less than when having your sleeping baby in the sunlight or any brightly lit room during the day. Perhaps baby sunglasses will become quite a bit more than a fashion statement in the future. Until there are more conclusive studies, parents can relax a bit and just take heed of the fact that babies are more delicate than us. Although it’s tough to tell that to the mother that just stubbed her toe because her new nursery nightlights only emit a soft glow…

No nursery is complete without a nursery nightlight for the safety of mother and baby.

When your baby wakes up at 3am from a dream, he or she needs to be able to see their surroundings. Now I am not talking about a bright light illuminating the entire room here, but a soft glow letting baby know that they are in a comforting environment. When a baby awakens to a pitch black room, they have a tendency to get frightened and cry extremely loud. They are feeling lost and abandoned when this happens.

Nursery nightlights let your baby awake to a softly lit room where they can see their surroundings and feel comfortable. When a baby awakens from deep sleep, they like to look around and see familiar surroundings,

Butterfly-Nursery-Nightlights

nursery nightlights allow them to do just this, and many times a baby will amuse herself by checking out all the cool lines and nursery décor until finally falling back to sleep. Of course this is not always the case, and often times a baby will need the comforting of a loving parent to coax them back to sleep.

When your baby is crying for you at 3am and the house is dark, the last thing you need to do is stub your toe in the darkness and be upset before you even get to your baby to calm them. Nursery nightlights will softly illuminate your way into the nursery so that you can comfort your child, without harm coming to you on your way. Sometimes a crying baby has just misplaced a pacifier, other times they are hungry and ready for a feeding. Rather than turning on a bright overhead light and surely awakening your baby to a full state of alertness, you can use a nursery nightlight as a gentle light that will help you to pacify your baby.

Stained-Glass-Nightlights

Now for safety sake you also need to make sure that light from nursery nightlights do not shine into baby’s eyes, or even into the crib. The eyelids of babies under the age of 2 years old are very thin and direct light may be able to damage the development of the eyes over extended periods of time. As a safety measure, I believe that, if possible, all nursery nightlights should be placed behind the head of the crib, this way the room will be slightly illuminated, but no light will ever shine directly at your baby. Without standing up in the crib and staring behind them, your baby should not be able to look directly at the light. If you have a streetlight glaring into your nursery, you may want to change position of the crib so that this light is never shining directly into the crib, and especially baby’s eyes.

Jet-Nightlight

A completely dark room is not advisable because of the shock factor that your baby will feel upon waking. Darkness is also less safe for the comforting parent who is coming into the room all blurry eyed and half awake, all it takes is one forgotten diaper bag in the middle of the room and there could be a very bad accident. Nursery nightlights will prevent these occurances and make everyone feel more comfortable and safe.

There are many varieties of nursery nightlights and you will probably want more than one. Especially if your room is any distance from the nursery, you will want nursery nightlights to illuminate your way from your room, all the way to the nursery. It is hard enough to be in a good mood awakened by a crying baby at 3am, you definitely do not need any mishaps along the way.

Most toddlers will want to have a very busy bedroom with lots of stuff to do while they are there. Toddler room decorating ideas will leave you full of ideas to run past your toddler to find the design that will fit him or her just perfectly.

If you are lucky, your toddler will not start trying to climb out of his/her crib until they reach 2 years or older, but many toddlers have outgrown their cribs earlier than this. Toddler room decorating ideas include boy room themes and girl room themes, if you have twins and they are a girl and a boy in the same room…this could get difficult to say the least. Most toddler room decorating ideas center on one theme, but you are free to mix and match as you and your child please to make the most friendly environment possible for your child.

Jungle Room Theme

Many crib mattresses are transferrable to a toddler bed, so do not be too hasty in giving that old crib away or putting it in storage. Toddler beds come in a myriad of shapes and themes, including castle themes, car toddler beds, or even spiderman toddler beds. Making the choice for a theme for your toddler’s room should have a lot to do with themes you have tried in your nursery décor. Whatever nursery décor your child found the most comforting and amusing should be pursued when it comes to toddler room decorating ideas.

Some parents like something so much that they believe their child should enjoy it too, but even toddlers have a mind of their own and should be a big part of choosing the theme for their toddler room décor. Some men are so fond of sports that they feel their child should want a football themed room, only to find that their child rarely plays with this style of toys. As disheartening as it is for the parent, it is even worse for the child because they would have been happy with a firetruck or airplane themed room. So please try to get your toddler’s room decorating ideas also when choosing a theme. Believe it or not, many girls would prefer a jungle theme over princesses, so this going to fall on the parents shoulders of testing themes while the child is still in the nursery phase.

Just because your child is getting a room makeover does not mean you need to throw out all the old stuff in the nursery. As mentioned, many crib mattresses will fit right into the toddler bed, so this can cut your costs down a bit. Also you can look for a theme that does not require new toddler bedding, most toddler comfortors are reversible and both sides should be considered for the new theme. That old dresser/changing table can be transformed to fit your new toddler room theme and most of the furniture will remain the same.

Space Room Theme

If you choose to paint when changing themes, be sure to pick colors that can remain for at least a few if not five years, this will save you the hassle of repainting constantly as your child’s tastes change. Wall decals for nursery can be swapped out for toddler wall decals, jungle wall decals, butterfly wall decals, etc…The easier you make this on yourself, the happier you are going to be, and the more patient when your child starts talking and giving their own toddler room decorating ideas. Here are a few toddler room themes for you to consider for when the time comes to redecorate that toddler room.

*Jungle theme

*Princesses theme

*Spiderman theme

*Balloons theme

Princess Room Theme

*Airplanes theme

*Firetrucks theme

*Space theme

*Butterflies theme

*Underwater theme

*Spongebob Squarepants theme

*Scooby-Doo theme

*Dolphins theme

*Castles theme

*Horses theme

As you can see, there are plenty of themes for toddler room decorating ideas. Using removable wall decals is a great way to change themes quickly and easily. And if your child is old enough to help, they can even apply stickers to the walls where they want them and help to design the room to their delight.

Nursery Nightlights have been around for ages, but now there are some really great features when it comes to choosing your baby’s first nursery nightlight. No longer are you limited to a bright plain bulb plugged in, or a too dim glow that helps you only to stub your toe while trying to calm your baby.

Nursery nightlights have evolved with the times and you can now take advantage of some innovative nightlights that will calm your baby, and you, when your baby is awake and fussing. There are plenty of options to consider when it comes to nursery nightlights and you need to make sure that you find the right fit for you and for baby.

Childrens lamps often come with a built-in nightlight at the base. This is a two for one deal where you can have a full service light in the nursery, and also a nightlight when the bright light is shut off. This is truly an all purpose solution to your nursery nightlight needs, but only if your child is comforted with such a plain model.

Childrens Lamp with built in Nightlight

Some infants will require a light show of sorts to calm them and help them to return to peaceful sleep in a hurry. There are plenty of styles and variations to consider when it comes to a light show. There are nursery nightlights that put on a space theme scene against the ceiling or wall that will often calm your baby very quickly. Some nursery nightlights are in the form of an animal, with a light show made by a revolving light inside of the animal. These normally are not as exciting and detailed as the specific light show themes, but are often just right for calming your baby, as they can watch the light eminating from the animal night light, or the patterns displayed upon the wall or ceiling.

Direct outlet plugin nursery nightlights still exist and come in a myriad of colors and styles. From the old standby of an angel to Santa Claus, you will find an endless array of this style of nightlight and should first consider the brightness that you and your baby need in the nursery. Some infants will find a soft glow just perfect, others will want a bit more light to be able to take in their surroundings without getting spooked in the dim light. Nursery nightlights set on a dimmer switch is a great and fairly inexpensive idea. This will ensure that baby has the perfect level of light, and that you will have the perfect amount of light for those night time changings and feedings. The last thing you need is to hurt yourself in the dark while searching for a thrown pacifier in the middle of the night.

Plugin-Nightlight

Nursery nightlights safety tips:

Much of this is common sense, but I would be remiss in not mentioning these safety factors, after all your nursery nightlight is there to protect you and your baby, not cause harm.

1)Make sure that the amount of light eminating from your nursery nightlight is just right for you and baby.

2)Do not place your nursery nightlight at eye level with your baby’s eyes, this can be more damaging than no light at all for your baby.

3)Make sure that your baby’s nursery nightlight is out of reach of baby, this means while in the crib and out, you never want your child to be able to reach it at any time.

4)Do not place a nursery nightlight above your baby’s crib on a shelf, it is far too easy for an inquisitive baby to find a way to grab the cord or the nightlight itself.

5)Make sure that light from the nursery nightlight is not shining into the crib or in a direct line with your baby’s eyes.

6)If you choose a lightshow style nursery nightlight, do not purchase one that is to be attached to the crib, this is just an accident waiting to happen.

7)When choosing chandelier style nursery nightlights, be sure that they will be far enough above the crib that even baby standing atop the crib walls will not be able to reach the chandelier. Babies are naturally inquisitive, so think these things out before making an impulse buy.

8)Some mobiles are now coming with built in nightlights, so be sure that the mobile will be plenty out of reach if you are considering this option.

Nursery nightlights have become a bit controversial lately. There have been some studies that show that nightlights in a baby’s room leads to shortsightedness. On the other hand there are just as many studies that show the opposite to be true and correct. So no one seems to know what the truth of the matter really is when it comes to lighting your nursery and your baby’s health. If you follow the tips shown on this page, you can rest assured that you are taking the majority of risk away, and that your baby is going to be healthy and happy with his/her nursery nightlight.

Nursery nightlights are a wonderful addition to your baby’s room and should be considered a necessity, both for you and your baby. Sifting through the plethura of nursery nightlights that exist will be the toughest part of choosing a nursery nightlight and I hope that this website has helped you in determining the best nightlight for your nursery needs.