Opalec as child's flashlight!

[milkyspit]

Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Just wanted to share a great success in our home: my 3 year old son loves playing with flashlights, so I bought him the mini mag-lite with Opalec Newbeam combo. Fantastic! It meets the twin needs of resilience when dropped or otherwise abused, and super long battery life. My son has a tendency to leave his flashlights on when finished with them, so in battery savings alone the Opalec should pay for itself in no time. Who would have thought... seriously useful light, plus great for kids, too!

 

[LED_ASAP]

Re: Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Be careful, the super bright nature of modern LED lights can cause serious and irreversable damage to a child's eyes. You'd better not give your son any flashlights to play with until he can understand the danger and know how to protect his eyes.

 

[Nerd]

Re: Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Nowadays a single LED is enuff to damage your eyes given a long enuff period. So you had better make sure your child doesn't stare into it to get the dalmation effect. It's BAD for the eyes. Period.

 

[Lurker]

Re: Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Playskool makes a plastic, incandescent child's flashlight that turns itsself off automatically when the grip is no longer being held. That may be a good choice for your toddler.

 

[milkyspit]

Re: Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Thanks for the cautions, and your points are well taken. I keep a close eye on the little guy whenever he's using his flashlight, and he does tend to be very good about not looking directly at it -- he much prefers seeing it dance along the walls and ceiling. Will the next child be as good? Who knows, but I'm not taking it for granted.

Incidentally, my son does have one of those Playskool incandescent lights and likes it, too, though it's more of a floodlight. (Ironic since that's what's usually said about LED flashlights!)

 

[milkyspit]

Re: Opalec as child\'s flashlight!

Forgot to mention, the light my son used to have was one of those tiny 2AAA Pelican lights, which might have been even more of a risk given the more focused beam. We replaced the Pelican with the Opalec.