My daughter has always been a difficult sleeper. From the earliest age she had separation issues and has been extremely afraid of the dark. We had lots of trouble getting her to stay in her own bed and even going to sleep in a semi dark room. For a brief time, I was able to remedy this with a Twilight Turtle - a plush turtle with a plastic shell that illuminated the walls and ceilings with constellations.  She loved that turtle, but so did her older brother. And, well - one day her older brother won out and the turtle got broken.  But, she was still afraid of the dark and it was going downhill.

When we found out that my daughter had vision problems, a big light went on for me about the source of many of her fears - including being afraid of the dark. My daughter has low vision to begin with but especially poor depth perception and very bad night vision.  Where some people are able to adjust their eyes to see in the dark, she cannot and so if it is dark for the average joe - it is pitch black for her. No wonder she is so afraid! 

I searched for a good night light for her, but many of them needed a wall outlet of which she has very few in her tiny bedroom. The few that she does have are in dumb places and blocked by furniture. So, one of my criteria for a nightlight was something portable.  I found the Mobi Tykelights and was interested in them. They have a few different models including ones that are rechargeable which first caught my eye. Then, I found this Mobi Tykelight Jr and I was sold.

About the Mobi Tykelight Jr
The Mobi Tykelight Jr is a portable nightlight. It is available in 3 different colors - Blue, Pink, and Green for $12.99 per light, sold separately.  I actually purchased a "buddy pack" which had 2 lamps in it - one pink and one green for $19.99 from an online seller.  Since my kids are known to fight over things, even though I was initially looking to  get the pink one for my 4 year old (afraid of the dark) daughter I knew that my older son (8 years old and autistic) would love a green (his favorite color) nightlight. 

The Tykelight Jr is shaped kind of like a person. It is made of hard plastic and about 7 or so inches tall with completely rounded exterior.  Per the Mobi Technologies website it "exceeds 2009 safety standards" - whatever that means.

This portable nightlight is powered by 3 AAA batteries (it comes with the first set), be sure to buy lots if you use this light frequently. To access the batteries you will need a small phillips head screwdriver and then be sure the hatch is tightly screwed shut.

There is a small circle on the bottom of the Tykelight Jr which is the on/off button. Pressing it changes the modes of the light which are 15 minute auto-timer, high, low, or off. Pressing the button toggles between the modes.  If the red light on the bottom of the tykelight is on then it is in auto-timer mode and will shut off after 15 minutes. Otherwise the light is "On" and will remain on until you press the button to turn it off. 

We love our Tykelights
We got these nightlights approximately 6 months ago and my daughter has faithfully slept with hers nearly every night.  She loves the pink glow which is not real bright but bright enough to "take the edge" off of her very dark bedroom.  The light is safe for her to bring right into bed with her and doesn't get hot. I am not worried that it could start fire or anything like that as it is really quite dim.  We use it in auto-timer mode so it shuts off on its own after 15 minutes.  Usually by that time, my daughter has fallen asleep and the light remains off for the remainder of the night.

I do wish that the on/off button was styled such that it was slightly raised or depressed from the bottom surface of the light. In a dark room it is close to impossible to find the right spot to press to turn the tykelight jr. on. This is a bummer because if my daughter wakes up in her dark room, if she could just turn on this nightlight it might prevent the "afraid of the dark" tears from turning on.  My daughter has realized that she can press all over and sometimes she will get it to turn on but it is easier for her to just wake me up and have me fumble for the switch. Then she is back to sleep and while I'm up all night - typical!

Battery life is as expected - not real great, for a portable nightlight "toy".  I change the AAA batteries on pretty much a monthly basis. As the batteries get low the light will start to act up. For example, just tonight when I pressed the on button the red light on the bottom lit up but the light itself did not. Another time I noted that the auto-timer was not working and my son's lamp stayed on close to the entire night.  Even being on for so many hours, the light was not even the slightest bit warm to the touch.

For my son, the green tykelight jr. was mostly a novelty "toy" to him. He used it a lot in the beginning up in his loft bed, but one day it fell down (unharmed) and he seems to have forgotten about it. My daughter, on the other hand, still faithfully uses her pink tykelight every night. She loves this nightlight and it has proved to be a perfect bedtime solution. Personally I prefer the somewhat muted glow of the pink tykelight to the green version which is definitely brighter even on the low setting. I am unsure how the brightness compares to the blue version of this light.

Having seen firsthand how the Tykelight Jr has helped my very afraid of the dark daughter assume a bit more independence at bedtime I absolutely add my endorsement. If you are looking for a battery powered, portable, safe, kid-friendly nightlight the Tykelight Jr. is your solution. I wish I had gotten one sooner!

For more info:
www.getmobi.com

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