Best light for toddler flashaholic?

Well, now I've really done it. As I've become addicted to flashlights in the past two months, so has my daughter, Carina, who turns 2 next week. She's quite an observant tyke and become fascinated with my lights. She insists only on using those with a clicky switch!

I'm worried about her blinding herself with my various bright Luxeons, of course, and let her use an old incandescent AA light that is in such poor shape that the bulb and lens keep popping off. She happily and quite efficiently puts all the pieces back in place but I really need a better solution.

So, what do your give your flashaholic daughter for her 2nd birthday? If it's not a clicky, I swear she'll drop in in the toilet in anger. . . !

(She's also addicted to my laptop so I'll soon probably have to get her a personal log-in on CPF, too.)

Maybe a Dorcy 3AAA light. Has a clicky, which cycles through on, strobe and off (at least mine does) . Similar if not identical to this >> http://www.dorcy.com/1_watt_led.htm .

Could take a look at what they have at Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Bound to be something suitable and not too costy.

Congrats on starting Carina out on the right path!

best regards

I really hope to find something not at all too bright. She does tend to want to turn it around and look at it from just inches away!!!

How about a cheap disney 2AA incan with a really nice clicky from BigLots for $2.49
It even has a cord lanyard on it.

Hmm . . . a dim clicky. Gotta think about that one. Maybe a Dorcy with almost-dead batteries? :laughing:

best regards

You could always put a resistor in the light to reduce the output which would increase battery life also. I don't know of many small lights with good clickies that are not metal.
I would think a plastic light better for a 2yr old.

My kids, 2 and 3, have a choice of a few lights when they want one. 9 times out of 10 they go for the Eternalight Derringers. Cheap to run, attrative to kids, wont fry retnas, easy to hold and very simple to use. Doubles as a reading light, night light and child locator beacon while outdoors.
Good luck!
Pyd.
Oh yeah, it is the one my wife reaches for too.

Streamlight Jr LED?


Jeff

How about a PALight?

Clickie switch, two levels and strobe. Also has an always on nightlight mode, which is fun for a child's bedroom. Case is available in bright colors. It is bright enough to be entertaining, but not dangerous if looked at directly. Case is rubber and a pretty good size for small hands.

Another consideration for a toddler is lack of small removable parts. Small tailcaps, bezels, lamps and even batteries can be dangerous. They will end up in the mouth eventually and the choking hazard is very real.

The PALight has none of these. I don't think a two year old could even open the case. Heck, I barely can.

Also a nice place to use up any partially depleted 9v.

Mark

The PALight would be perfect. An Eternalight would be another fine choice...lots of buttons to play with. Enjoy it while you can...my daughter, 11YO, will only consider a Surefire...nothing less.

I like the Streamlight Jr. but I think that it's a bit too bright for young eyes.

Other options should include a light that easily passes through the digestive system

Here is one I got for my daughter ( 6 at the time ). I saw them in Wallmart camping area this past weekend. I think it was around 8 bucks. I took out the incandescant light in the middle as I did not want to feed it batteries. The rest of the light has 5 led that more than satisfy her night time go to sleep time.

It has a slide switch and a "click" button switch. The slide selector allows you to have the 5 led's light up. Pressing the button, changes the pattern ( 6 or 7). It has a night time mode that a yellow led glows solidly.

It uses 2 AA batteries and lasts forever. I use NiMh and don't worry about it. It is made quite solidly. She has not torn it up and plays with it all the time. It is quite geeky for a 6 year old. The case is a sturdy "child proof" bicycle helmet type plastic. Size...4.25 inches tall 1.75 inches wide.

Here are some pics I searched for and one location. I think it is on Ebay for a few bucks less. Not all Wallmarts carry it.

I did this as I was worried about a bright LED harming her eyes.
These are just right....enough for fun but not TOO bright.
It sure helps go to bed time!! :sleepy:
Ken
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Too bad about the clicky. I gave my 2 year old a Dorcy 1AAA in red. I was worried she would leave it on so I put some teflon tape on the cap threads so she could only use it in momentary mode (added a lanyard so she could wear it around her neck). After watching me use one (I have a blue one) she loved it although she still points it in her face and others (but that's what kids do).

onthebeam said:

I really hope to find something not at all too bright. She does tend to want to turn it around and look at it from just inches away!!!

Click to expand...

Well, that rules out what I was thinking, Costco HID....

PoliceScannerMan said:

Well, that rules out what I was thinking, Costco HID....

Click to expand...

PSM is right. The 35W Costco HID is much too bright for a toddler. Maybe something in a 10W HID would be better...

Seriously though, I bought my 6 year old brother a PALight E-lite. He loves the blinking and SOS mode. I think the PALights are great for kids because they take a 9V battery and you cannot install one backwards (which could fry the LED). They are also pretty rugged.

The EternaLight would be a great choice too.

Another vote for the PAL, but get in addition to the above reasons, you can get one that has an auto-off in 30 minutes feature. Toddlers are notorious for turning on a light and leaving it on behind a sofa/under the covers to make even the longest runtime lights a "use once and it's done" scenario. The Eternalite has this feature as well.

For the younger children, babies, definitely make sure the light is NOT bright. It can damage their developing eyes. Even camera flashs can damage a newborn's eyes..

The Energizer hardcase led 2AA I did choose. One 5mm Led is not bright at all but will last for 50hrs. And the most important thing, 70% of the body is covered by rubber feel plastic. It would hurt the kids's feet or itself.

Unless you give her an L4 to play with, a layer or two of scotch "magic" tape in the lens will diffuse the beam enough not to blind them leetle eyes.

Be careful with the lanyards too. I don't like putting anything around a child's neck. I once saw one that turned off after so many minutes but can't remember who made it. Kids tend to leave them on and walk away or fall asleep. Maybe make one using nFlex, bbFlex, or D2DIM. They all have 'Autosleep' mode as an option.

KenBar said:

Here is one I got for my daughter ( 6 at the time ). I saw them in Wallmart camping area this past weekend. I think it was around 8 bucks. I took out the incandescant light in the middle as I did not want to feed it batteries. The rest of the light has 5 led that more than satisfy her night time go to sleep time.

It has a slide switch and a "click" button switch. The slide selector allows you to have the 5 led's light up. Pressing the button, changes the pattern ( 6 or 7). It has a night time mode that a yellow led glows solidly.

It uses 2 AA batteries and lasts forever. I use NiMh and don't worry about it. It is made quite solidly. She has not torn it up and plays with it all the time. It is quite geeky for a 6 year old. The case is a sturdy "child proof" bicycle helmet type plastic. Size...4.25 inches tall 1.75 inches wide.

Here are some pics I searched for and one location. I think it is on Ebay for a few bucks less. Not all Wallmarts carry it.

I did this as I was worried about a bright LED harming her eyes.
These are just right....enough for fun but not TOO bright.
It sure helps go to bed time!! :sleepy:
Ken

Click to expand...

I just got a pair of these for my kids. They're great! $9.97 for a 2 pk at Costco.