Wall lights in a child's bedroom: safety and atmosphere

A wall light in a child's bedroom must be as safe as it is soft: firmly fixed, with no cable within reach, with a source that stays barely warm to the touch and a light that helps prepare for sleep. Here are the safety points to check one by one, followed by the settings that create a real evening atmosphere.

A child climbs, pulls, grabs, throws things and tests everything that sticks out. A light that is perfect for an adult's bedroom can become dangerous in theirs. Yet the wall light has real advantages: it frees up the bedside table, cannot be knocked over and can be placed out of reach.

For choosing the style and position in the room, our guide to the child's bedroom wall light covers everything. Here, we focus on safety, then on atmosphere.

1. Wall lights in a child's bedroom: the risks to know

Four risks come up again and again: the light coming loose when the child hangs from it or knocks it, the cable they pull or get tangled in, the hot source they touch, and the small parts they take apart. Each of the choices below addresses one of these risks.

2. Out of reach: the right heights

The simplest rule is to place the wall light where the child cannot reach it, even standing on the bed. A three-year-old standing on a mattress can easily reach 1.40 m; a six-year-old, more than 1.60 m.

For the youngest children's rooms, see also our guide to lighting a nursery. For older children, our article on lighting a teenager's bedroom takes over.

3. A fixing that does not move

A wall light in a child's bedroom must withstand a ball, a thrown soft toy and sometimes a hand grabbing hold of it. The backplate must be fixed with wall plugs suited to the wall, with at least two fixing points, and must have no play once tightened.

• Plasterboard: metal cavity anchors, or screwing into a stud. See the right fixing for plasterboard.
• Brick or concrete: nylon plugs of the right diameter, screws of the right gauge.
• Heavy wall light: reinforcement behind the plasterboard, as explained in reinforcing a plasterboard wall before fitting.

A stone wall light can quite happily go in a child's bedroom, as long as it is firmly fixed, out of reach and never above the head of the bed. The weight of stone does change the fitting; our article on the weight of a stone wall light details the precautions.

4. No cable within reach

A dangling cable is both a risk of the light being yanked down and a strangulation risk for a young child. In a child's bedroom, the cable must disappear: a recessed cable outlet in the right place, or trunking screwed to the wall up to a height that is out of reach.

Also beware of pull-cord switches or dangling switches near a cot. If the wall light is a plug-in model, run the cable in trunking and place the socket behind a heavy piece of furniture. Our 7 tips for hiding a wall light cable give all the solutions.

5. LED: a source that stays barely warm to the touch

An incandescent or halogen bulb quickly reaches a temperature that burns skin. An LED converts far more energy into light and far less into heat: for the same light output, its surface stays barely warm. It is now the only sensible choice in a child's bedroom.

Choose an LED enclosed in a diffuser, a shade or a closed body, rather than a bare bulb. If a wall light feels hot to the touch, read our article is it normal for a wall light to get hot?. For electrical safety, a Class II double-insulated light is a real plus; see Class I and Class II.

6. Materials and shapes to favour

In a child's bedroom, favour rounded shapes with no sharp edges or points, and materials that do not shatter: wood, metal, acrylic, fabric. Thin glass is best avoided within reach. Also avoid models with small removable parts, such as drops or decorative beads.

Wood is an excellent choice: warm, light and sturdy. Our round Nordic-style wooden wall light shows the kind of soft shapes that suit a child's bedroom well.

7. Switches and sockets

The wall light switch should be within the child's reach as soon as they are old enough to use it, at around 90 to 110 cm from the floor, near the door or the bed. That way they do not climb to reach the light. All the heights are in our article on switches and sockets near a wall light.

Standard UK sockets have built-in shutters: check that those in the bedroom are in good condition, especially if you plug in a wall light.

8. Cordless and rechargeable wall lights

A cordless wall light avoids building work and removes any cable. In return, it contains a battery and often comes off its bracket to be charged. In a child's bedroom, it must therefore be fixed out of reach, on a bracket that cannot be removed in one movement, and charged by an adult. Its limits are detailed in cordless wall lights.

9. A light that prepares for sleep

Evening light affects falling asleep: a warm, low light tells the body the day is ending, a cool, bright light keeps it awake. Our article on light and sleep goes into this in more detail.

A dimmer lets you move from one moment to the next with a single wall light. Check its compatibility with the LED to avoid flicker; see wall lights and dimmers.

10. Night light and reading corner

Many children sleep better with a little light. A very low-intensity wall light, aimed at the wall or ceiling, reassures without lighting the face. Place it away from the bed rather than above it, so that it acts as a guide towards the door at night.

From around seven or eight, a reading light near the bed becomes useful: a beam aimed at the book, 250 to 400 lumens, an adjustable head the child sets alone. See our advice on creating a reading corner.

11. In short

In a child's bedroom, the wall light goes out of reach, never above a cot, with a fixing suited to the wall and no accessible cable. Choose an enclosed LED that stays barely warm, rounded shapes and materials that do not shatter. For atmosphere, a dimmable warm white and an amber night light see the child through to sleep.

Frequently asked questions