How To Find The Right Lamp Or Ceiling Light Fixture For Your Child’s Bedroom

by Sherrie Le Masurier, published Thursday, March 16th, 2006 at 5:05 pm

Before hitting the closest lighting retail outlet in search for the perfect lamp or ceiling light fixture for your child’s bedroom you need to first become familiar with the basic concepts of effective lighting. In any bedroom you need to consider ambient, task and accent lighting.



Ambient light is the kind of light that fills the whole room. Be sure to add a sufficient amount of ambient light for the safety and comfort of your child. A ceiling light fixture is a great source of ambient light.

Task lighting is the kind of lighting that brightens a particular area. Such lighting is ideal for desktop use as it doesn’t cause glare and eyestrain. A decorative child lamp is most often ideal for both desktop and bedside use.

Accent lighting should be ideally situated to add to the room’s comfort level. It is purely decorative in nature and can be used to highlight treasured accessories.

A dimmer switch is another good feature to have in a child’s room. Such a switch allows you to brighten the room when required and then lower the light at bedtime.

The safest kinds of ambient light fixtures to use in your child’s room are wall scones, recessed fixtures and track lighting. The advantage here is that these types of fixtures won’t get damaged if your kids start rough housing whereas another type of child lamp may. Also keeping any light sources out of your child’s reach is always a good way to prevent burns.

A ceiling light fixture is an ideal alternative as you never have to worry about lamps being knocked over.

For the rooms of younger kids consider general ambient lighting that comes from a ceiling light fixture. Over the years you can add localized task lighting into the mix as your child begins using her room for more refined activities like reading or arts and crafts.

Now let’s move from the benefits of a ceiling light fixture to that of the lamp.

When it comes to selecting a lamp for a desktop consider one that not only compliments the dcor of the room but is angled in such away that it avoids unnecessary stress on your child’s vision. Positioning a lamp so it shines directly on your child’s desk or work area can cause glare and eyestrain.

Before purchasing a lamp be sure to look for one’s that won’t tip easily, produce too much heat or is too heavy in the event that your child does manage to knock or pull it off her desk or table top.

A good lamp is well-balanced and able to be fastened securely onto a desk.

If your child has a computer in her room, you’ll want to ensure that she has ambient as well as task lighting that’s compatible. The trick here is to use task lighting to illuminate what is on the monitor and use an ambient light source to eliminate any contrast.

If your child likes to read in bed consider an adjustable child lamp near her bedpost. What better way to encourage your children to wind down their day than to read? Reading will become more appealing to your child if you make the experience as comfortable as possible.

If you wish to place a lamp next to the bed make sure it lines up with your child’s shoulder when she’s sitting up ready to read. Lighting that comes from behind her shoulder and slightly to the side will be the best for her eyes.

So there you have it, the best tips I have on how to find the right lamp or ceiling fixture for your child’s bedroom.



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