Nice suggestions. Thank you.

I'd suggest a Nightstar ( www.shakelight.com ) or equivalent cheaper "Forever Flashlight" (ebay) for a child that young. Attractions:

1) Too big to swallow, big enough to not get lost as easily as a smaller light
2) Completely sealed, NO removable parts to eat or lose
3) No consumables (i.e. no bulb, batteries or chemicals). LED light powered by shaking the light up and down. It lasts pretty much forever. Shaking it to make it light up will also amuse the kid.

One danger: it has a powerful permanent magnet inside as part of the power generator. Don't let it near your credit cards.

Thanks man.That sounds like just the ticket. My niece is the very definition of precocious. She will have anything child-resistant apart in minutes. She does not give up. Much like her mom -- my sister. And if my niece has a credit card, well she is going to be buying ME a really cool flashlight. Grin.

Paulr--

Do you have one? If so, how do you turn on the Nightstar? The web site says a "magnetic reed switch", but how is it actuated?

I'm looking for something with a dead-man switch for my 2-yr old to use, so that when she puts it down, the light will go off. My 5-yr old has a light that came as a part of his bed rail; it only stays on while you grip it, & the switch is placed to facilitate that hold.

Neither child has sufficient hand strength to keep a Photon I activated; PIIs just get clicked on & left; PIIIs are a bit too complex for them.

While they play with my PT lights in the tub, turning the head of the light offers enough resistance that neither can turn them on reliably.

Any other suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks.

David

I don't have a Nightstar but have played with them. The magnetic reed switch is sealed inside the light. On the outside of the light there's a little slide switch, except instead of moving an electrical contact, it moves a little magnet that opens and closes the reed switch through the sealed plastic. That setup is common in dive lights and I think a kid should be able to operate it reasonably easily, once s/he's developed enough coordination to manipulate small objects.

I don't understand the issue of a deadman switch. Nothing bad happens if you forget to turn off the Nightstar, that's part of the point. It stays lit until the internal capacitor is discharged (several minutes). Then you recharge it by shaking the light up and down.

Paulr-

Thanks for your reply. Since my last post, I've spoken with one of the owners & he provided me much information.

You're right about the deadman switch essentially being redundant on this light; however, on a conventional light with batteries, it's important--unless I want to replace batteries daily! That was also part of my conversation with the ShakeLight person.

I'm probably not going to get one of these for my 2 year old; it's a bit pricey, & too much of an impact weapon for her. Me, now, on the other hand--I want one!

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it.

David

There is a cheaper knockoff of the Nightstar called the "Forever Flashlight". You can find them on ebay, froogle.com, etc. They come in a few different sizes with the smallest being not much of a weapon. I haven't seen one in person and from what I hear they don't perform as well as the Nightstar, but a 2yo is unlikely to care. They do cost a lot less.

The Nightstar is well made but except for special applications like this, IMO it's not a very practical light.