My children are teenagers and still require a night light. It’s not because they are scared of the dark or fear there are monsters under their bed. Does that fear ever really go away, even when you are old enough to have kids in private school? Nightlights are necessary when the path to the bathroom is so very, very long. They will never need to go down a hallway, or even leave their room. However, we still illuminate the floor to avoid tripping on something during their short mid-night trek. The bathroom is attached to their bedroom. A single nightlight will prevent an unfortunate mishap (and scare away the monsters).
MANSIONS ARE NOT MADE FOR TUCK INS
Good parents tuck their children in bed and manually turn on their nightlight. I do not because I am extremely lazy. Walking to the east wing of our estate, going up the grand spiral staircase, and plodding down the multiple long hallways to my kids room is a lot of exercise. I pay good money to my gym so I have a place to exercise. Exercise is good for me and it will keep me wearing single digit clothing. But this exercise, at the end of the day, when I’m already exhausted is too much. I avoid all nightlights and tuck-ins when possible.
FLIPPING THE SWITCH
The actual flipping of the switch is just more work I want to avoid. Hue lights are one of the items we have installed, since we aspire to live in a smart home. With hue lights (I’m sure there are other brands out there), I can stay in bed and turn on/off the dimmable lights not only in my kid’s bedroom, but all over the house, directly from my phone.
REGULAR LIGHTS:
Walk upstairs
Flip a Switch
HUE LIGHTS:
Turn on the phone
Find the Hue app
Open the app
Login
Try to login, again
Look for the password for this app
Go to my office
Search for the scrap of paper that contains my password
Get back into bed
Login a third time
Find the room
Find the bulb
Turn on the light
Close my phone
Put it on my nightstand
See how easy that is? It’s way easier than running a 5K across our entire home and flipping a switch. Between Hue lights and facetime, I can provide my children with a comforting tuck-in while I am in my warm cozy bed wearing my warm, cozy socks.
WHAT ABOUT CANDLES? THEY ARE ALSO LIGHTS!
The hue lights do have one flaw. The hue light app does not illuminate wax candles using real fire. That has to be done manually. I sometimes light candles in my bedroom, at night, to relax before I go to sleep. I always light candles during the day. Candles are especially beneficial when I skip a day of cleaning. The right candle will fill the air with the smell of a freshly cleaned room.
ONION – THE NEWEST CANDLE SCENT!
It also helps with cooking. A candle will make the kitchen smell like I baked a dozen cookies, or a fresh apple pie. I should write a letter to the candle companies and suggest they create a candle called “dinner” that is just the smell of freshly sauteed onions. Though, when my family walks in the door, smells the delicious oniony candle and realizes there is no actual food, they will be very disappointed. It’s cereal or pizza for dinner again! I guess it’s not good to tease them like that.
As a member of the smart home community, I have an app that lights nightlights. Combined with Facetime, it’s the perfect bedtime tuck-in. I’d like an app that will light candles. If you can figure out how to do that or have any other ideas on how to make my home even smarter, comment below. Who knows? You may become the next Thomas Edison, make a truckload of money and our kids can attend private school, together. I’d like that.
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