How to choose a night light for a bedroom or a nursery

A good night light is dim enough to sleep next to and bright enough to find the door. Here is what to check before you buy one.

Keep it dim and warm

Choose a light with more than one brightness level, and use the lowest one at night. Warm white is easier on the eyes in the dark than a cool white light. For a child, a soft silicone light that dims itself after a set time means nobody has to get up to switch it off.

Touch or motion

A touch light, such as a silicone duck or a small table lamp, suits a bedside or a nursery shelf. A motion sensor light bar suits a wardrobe, a landing, a kitchen worktop or the stairs: it comes on when you walk past and goes off again after you leave.

How it is powered

• Rechargeable lights go anywhere and need no cable on the floor.
• Battery lights are easy to move but need fresh batteries now and then.
• Mains lights need a socket, which limits where they can go.

Where to put it

Keep a night light below eye level and away from the bed, so it lights the floor and not the pillow. See our lighting range for night lights, bedside lamps and light bars.