Um - but why?

baconsmom

Son sleeps with light on...need to change this. How?

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My son will be 4 at the end of the month. He needs to sleep with the light on in his room or he freaks out.

We're moving this week and I'm thinking moving into our new house will be a good opportunity to make this change. Any suggestions on how to go about it? I'm willing to bribe/sticker chart/ whatever it takes. Thanks.

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From Family Matters.

Why bother? Who's he hurting with the light? I still sleep with a light on, or the TV, unless H is having trouble sleeping - then I'll turn everything off for him, but I have to go out to the couch, because I can't fall asleep without reading or watching television, and I hate waking up in the dark. Hate it.

Bacon sleeps with a light, too - she has a loft bed, and if she has to get up in the middle of the night, she'd be SOL if it were dark in her room.

What if that poor kid is having nightmares? A fear of the dark is pretty standard - and, frankly, makes evolutionary sense. He's not doing it to piss her off.

**Stinky!**

I'm the exact opposite. I require complete darkness to sleep. Even my alarm clock (which has red lights) has to be turned away from me. H tells me to just shut my eyes, but if I *know* there's something in the room emitting light, it'll keep me awake until I either shut it off, cover it, or turn it away from me.

L_Woods

What if it's because he sees spirits and the light helps him cope?

 

Heffalump

**Stinky!**:

I'm the exact opposite. I require complete darkness to sleep. Even my alarm clock (which has red lights) has to be turned away from me. H tells me to just shut my eyes, but if I *know* there's something in the room emitting light, it'll keep me awake until I either shut it off, cover it, or turn it away from me.

This is DH.

TheDuckis

I'm an odd duck, because although I'm scared of the dark, I can't have a single light on when I'm in bed. H laughs and my ridiculous light ritual every night, which involves turning the hall light on at the bottom of the steps, walking upstairs and turning the bedroom light on, walking back out to the hall to turn the hall light off, walking into the bathroom to turn that light off, then going back into the bedroom to turn that light off. hen after I'm done in the bathroom I walk to the bed, turn on my nightstand light, go back to the bathroom to turn that light off, finally climb into bed, and turn of the nightstand when I'm completely and sufficiently tucked in.

Anyway I don't think there's anything wrong with a kid sleeping with a light on, as long as they're getting quality sleep. At 4 he's probably still napping during the day, so what's the difference?

*Barbie*

TheDuckis:

I'm an odd duck, because although I'm scared of the dark, I can't have a single light on when I'm in bed. H laughs and my ridiculous light ritual every night, which involves turning the hall light on at the bottom of the steps, walking upstairs and turning the bedroom light on, walking back out to the hall to turn the hall light off, walking into the bathroom to turn that light off, then going back into the bedroom to turn that light off. hen after I'm done in the bathroom I walk to the bed, turn on my nightstand light, go back to the bathroom to turn that light off, finally climb into bed, and turn of the nightstand when I'm completely and sufficiently tucked in.

You're wearing a Vikings jersey, red shorts, yellow knee high socks and black Crocs right now, aren't you?

mrs.conn23

**Stinky!**:

I'm the exact opposite. I require complete darkness to sleep. Even my alarm clock (which has red lights) has to be turned away from me. H tells me to just shut my eyes, but if I *know* there's something in the room emitting light, it'll keep me awake until I either shut it off, cover it, or turn it away from me.

This is me.  I also need silence.  

baconsmom

I suspect I like light and noise because I will wake up faster from nightmares or sleepwalking. They used to be a huge problem for me, but now I'm in the habit, so even though I go six or eight months between "episodes", I still want all this stuff on.

6fsn

Definitely Why.  Who cares if the kid likes his nightlight?

My sister's MIL was watching sister's kids.  The MIL refused to turn on a nightlight for the then 4 yo.  The kid is now 8 and still randomly mentions how scared she was that night.

*Candi*

I like our bedroom to be like a tomb. Dark, cool and silent. H doesn't care and could sleep through a tornado.

 

Autumn needs for a small lamp to be on in her room and the bathroom light across the hall to be on. No big deal, both bulbs are compact fluorescent since they are on for hours and she isn't scared.

TheDuckis

My grandmother is the complete opposite. She still insists on turning on night lights for us "in case we wake up in the middle of the night and need to find the bathroom." Because her house doesn't have the simplest layout of all time, and I haven't been going there for 20 years and clearly couldn't feel my way around for the light switch.