My Toddler Wants a Light...Suggestions Needed

So, I'm asking for help on the opposite end of the spectrum...I'm looking for dim lights!

My sweet little toddler wants a light to play with. Some time ago I gaver her a rather dim blue LED key-fob I purchased at RadioShack and it became her dearest possession, particularly at night. Then we lost it; just as well, it was not an ideal toy. But she cries for it at bedtime: "Blue Light! Blue Light!" So I am looking for suggestions where I might find reasonably dim lights (preferably blue!) that are kid-friendly.

(1) Needs to have a push-and-hold activation that turns off as soon as she lets go.
(2) Needs to be dim enough that if she stares at it, no eye damage.
(3) Needs to be kid-friendly (no swallowable batteries, etc).

Suggestions gratefully accepted!

A couple come to mind:
http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/default.cfm?page=browse&product_id=13937

My favorite (my brother and I had one when we were growing up and now my son has one too) - the case comes in different colors and has colored beam filters:
http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/favorites/default.cfm?page=browse&product_id=8548


Little Tikes has these, which are a hoot (they make noises and stuff). I've actually given them as presents to adults too:
http://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?quantity=1&itemNumber=5896&type=Product

However, make sure that you get ones made after the lead paint recall.

My son had that second playskool light with the beam filters as well and he still pulls it out at times. It is a cool light really and built like a tank, easy to use.

He is 5 1/2 now so I got him an old style Lumapower LM301 which I can run on NiMHs - the switch is easy to use, etc...

I own one of these as a kid, and I have since given one to my nephew.
Playskool makes one that has a slide switch, and a squeeze switch under the handle. If they don't squeeze under the handle about every 30 seconds, or hold it in, the light will turn itself off. The rotary switch on the side moves a filter in front of the light, turning it from white (no filter) to red, or green. It's dim enough not to hurt young eyes. I picked up one at a yard sale, but they can be found cheap enough online for new and used. It could probably even be fitted with a low intensity PR base LED, or your could make one yourself like this. The battery compartment is kept closed with a philips screw, so no chance of them taking them out, or of smaller ones around the house getting it open and swallowing them. Google "playskool red green flashlight" and most of the results will be for this light.

http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/default.cfm?page=browse&product_id=8548

http://cgi.ebay.com/PLAYSKOOL-Flash...74040515QQihZ015QQcategoryZ2576QQcmdZViewItem
http://www.amazon.com/dp/PLAYSCHOOL/?tag=cpf0b6-20
http://www1.epinions.com/kifm-review-74F8-437A6987-3A46CC14-prod3
http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/flashlight_view.cfm?item_number=PS00003

Yeah, I really like the auto-off feature on that Playskool one. The back of the light is flat, so you... I mean, your toddler... can set it in "candlemode" and light up an entire dark room.

Kids and lights... too much fun! My son's gotten to the point where he hides stuff under the bed or in a closet, and they he'll ask if he can borrow one of my lights to look for the stuff he "lost". It's a hilarious routine. I don't play along, of course.

May not be ideal, (i don't have kids...) but the glo-tube might be fun.

I guess my almost 2 years old is a bit ahead of schedule with his 1xAA $10 Fenix-clone from Deal Extreme.

He really likes it though, and can operate the tail switch like a champ. Sometimes he will shine it in his face, but the emitter doesn't put out near enough to make me worry about permanent damage to his eyes.

Sometimes he'll have it on when I'm using my P3D, and I could swear he looks at the light from mine, then disappointedly back at his own, something like this:

I'm thinking about getting him a cree based something or other.

It WOULD be nice to have a pressure switch so he doesn't leave it on, but with NIMHs in it I'm not too worried. I don't let him run around unsupervised with it either, so I can usually track it down when he runs off to do something else, and make sure it's turned off.

The $10 range at DealExtreme are pretty much cheap crap - you get what you pay for... but they DO usually have some kind of o-ring which makes them "droolable", they'll probably even survive a drop in a puddle, and if it gets lost or broken it's not a huge financial loss.

:shrug:

mchlwise said:

...but they DO usually have some kind of o-ring which makes them "droolable"...

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That reminds me, when our son was a baby, he absolutely hated the car seat. One of the few ways I found to calm him was to let him suck on the kroll's rubber boot of my Arc LS. My wife always gave me the for that one.

Wow, thanks for all these great suggestions, and showing me options I didn't know existed.

I must admit I got my daughter accustomed to "fun light" early in life. Before she was even born, I had installed a disco light ball and two 4-rotating-color pin-lights in the ceiling corners of her room. During diaper changes, I can keep her completely happy and occupied with the light show.

But my current project, which y'all are helping me with, is something she can operate independently at night, to play with in bed as she gets sleepy. Thanks again! What a helpful forum this is.

I usually give my children (3 and 4 years old) Infinity Ultras during power outages and when camping. Tough little lights that run for a very long time.

scottaw said:

May not be ideal, (i don't have kids...) but the glo-tube might be fun.

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Now that you mention it, I haven't let my kid play with my new Toobs.

The tailcaps may be too hard to operate, but we'll have to see... :thinking:

My two-year old loves the light:night. Cheap, color-changing night lights, Glo-Toobs and the Zzz...Lite have been big hits as well.

She also loves to snag the G2 out of the utility drawer and hide it. :tsk:

Shakelight, or one of the cheap clones if you must. http://www.shakelight.com

This is an led light powered by a moving magnet, i.e. you generate the electricity by shaking the light up and down so it lights up (a few seconds of shaking = a few minutes of light). No batteries to drain by leaving it on all night, no recharging to mess with, no parts to swallow, the thing is completely sealed. A friend of mine has one and it's great fun to play with, even for older toddlers such as myself.

My toddler plays with a Brinkman 3AAA (fat silver body, moon beam) but she can't turn it on by herself.. She stole my old Dorcy Cool Blue and she can turn that one on by herself, but happily it runs freaking FOREVER so not a big deal.

She steals my P2D or Surefire E1e if I leave 'em around in a second.

gswitter said:

She also loves to snag the G2 out of the utility drawer and hide it. :tsk:

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Khaytsus said:

She steals my P2D or Surefire E1e if I leave 'em around in a second.

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flashaholics are getting younger and younger these days....at this rate your toddler will want an HID by the time she gets in elementary

flashlightboys.com doesn't exist any more :aww:

I suggest modding a SF E-Series bulb with a blue LED and a driver, and put it in a E-series light with the old non-clicky tailcap. maybe even make a battery adapter so you can run the blue LED off a single NiMH. That way you can easily upgrade as the kid gets older.

Interesting suggestion...my 2 year old would then own a better flashlight than the rest of the family!

greenLED said:

Now that you mention it, I haven't let my kid play with my new Toobs.

The tailcaps may be too hard to operate, but we'll have to see... :thinking:

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Well.. scratch that. He had no trouble operating the twisty tailcap on the new Toob. He had a harder time with the old Toob's clicky switch (too stiff for his little fingers), but now he's got the hang of it. Best part, I didn't have to show him how to turn them on.