Craig--

Get a dive light. They're made to be waterproof to considerably deeper than the average bathtub. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My experience has been with Pelican, Underwater Kinetics, and Princeton Tec. Pelican’s guarantee, however, explicitly excludes “shark attack, bear attack, and children under 5.” (They really mean it, too.) So, they’re out. I got rid of my larger UK lights, and the small ones are packed in kits, so they’re out, too.

Consequently, the waterproof lights my kids play with in the tub are my Princeton Tecs. (web site)
I have a discontinued TEC 2-AA with incandescent bulb (it can also accept the LED module from my PT Matrix headlamp), and 4-AA Impact with LED. They prefer the 4-AA Impact with the LED. It’s especially fun with bubble bath. PT offers a number of lights; one of the 4-AAA LEDs (Attitude or Impact II) might be perfect—good size for small hands, long battery life because of the LED, and of course, waterproof.

These are “twist-on” lights, so there’s no “switch” to deal with, and they offer a stiff enough resistance that the kids can’t turn them on, much less open them. If you leave the lanyard on, be sure that she can’t get it over her head. Also, beware of the potential as an impact weapon when swung by the lanyard.

I must respectfully disagree with MiniMe’s comments, however. While he does have a valid point, I haven’t found it to be one of concern. My experience with my children has been different than his. Most of my “toys” (electronic and otherwise) are not available to them for experimentation of any type, except by special request & permission, & then, only under close supervision.

My 5-yr old son has had a fundamental understanding of “waterproof” vs. “not waterproof” since before he turned 4. Both he & my 2-yr old daughter simply think the lights are cool fun, especially under bubbles, with the lights out. They’re closely supervised while in the tub, and have dedicated tub toys. They ask for Daddy’s “blue flashlight” (though the 4-AA Impact has a white LED, the light has a bluish cast typical of white LEDs). It’s a special treat for them.

YMMV

Lightsticks are fun, too, but they get expensive to keep using. I let them have my old ones as I replace them with fresh stock.

Good luck! Let us know your choice, & how it works out!

David


(I edited this to correct the names of the PT LED lights. I stopped by the local REI store on the way home from work & checked them out. The Rage is not LED, it's Xenon; the Attitude & Impact II are both LED. The Attitude is a 3-led cluster (like the Aurora headlamp); the Impact II is a single LED with a lens. They also have a 2xAAA LED, but I forgot to write down the name. <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />