Q&A: Is it safe to use a night light in my baby's room?

Great question, and one that is often asked if for no other reason than the formal answer seems to be somewhat elusive. The fact that many parents—yourself and myself included—have heard vague references to the potential dangers of using night lights probably relates to a study that was published just over 10 years ago that found that young children who had slept with the light on, or with a night light, were more likely to be nearsighted that those children whose parents reported that they'd slept in the dark. As a result, one of the study's investigators reported that their "findings suggest that the absence of a nightly period of full darkness in early childhood may be an important risk factor in the future development of near-sightedness" and "it would seem advisable for infants and young children to sleep at night without artificial lighting in the bedroom until further research can evaluate all the implications…" As you might imagine, this got (and continues to get) the attention of parents and pediatricians alike.

But what's also interesting to note is that in the subsequent 12 years, I do not know of any formal recommendations being issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, or any other academic organization for that matter, that pertain to this concern. In fact, if you look at what the AAP does recommend when it comes to night lights and making Baby's room safe, you'll find that the most pressing safety concern involves keeping night lights away from drapes or bedding where they could start a fire, and buying only cool night lights that do not get hot.

So to get back to your question about your baby's room décor, glowing stars and moons would, in my opinion, fall into the harmless (and adorable) category, and having a night light in the hallway to avoid trips and falls sounds like a very wise idea.