As a parent, I am always looking for ways to make my life, and my kids’ lives a little bit easier. Thankfully, parents (and kids) today benefit from lots of great inventions – think car seats, high chairs, bouncy-seats, and even sunscreen. And just recently I was introduced to yet another great idea for kids and their families: Kidswitch is a super-smart product that is designed to help young children turn on and off the lights in their homes, even if they’re too short to reach the switch. Say what?! No really, it’s actually a very cool idea. Basically, a Kidswitch is a glow-in-the-dark attachment that hooks to your existing lightswitch and then hangs down low enough for even the shortest little guy to reach.
I remember when was a little girl, one of my friend’s fathers rigged up a crazy contraption with a rope, some staples, and a lot of duct tape (duct tape was big in their house) that allowed her to pull the switch on, but not off – pretty cool but not really perfect, especially now that we all know how important it is to conserve energy (plus I don’t think her mom really appreciated the generous coating of duct tape that covered the walls…..) The Kidswitch is an attractive alternative to the duct tape invention, plus it allows children to turn off the lights too. This makes it the perfect product for potty trainers (no more night time accidents because they’re afraid of the dark) and for practically any kid really.
My Kidswitch was easy to install and easy to uninstall. The kids really like that it glows in the dark also (I admit it, I like that too – who doesn’t like something that glows in the dark!). I actually have a fancy switch plate in the boys’ room, so it didn’t fit on that switch, but it worked pretty well in the bathroom. As a quick note, as much as I like the concept of the Kidswitch, using it can be a little tough. It’s kind of heavy so, unless we turn the light on just right, it will flip back down. Of course, I have pretty cheap switches throughout my house, and we’re all still getting used to it, so hopefully that issue will resolve itself. (My boys are actually pretty tall, so we won’t be in need of the Kidswitch for too much longer). All in all, I was happy with the award winning Kidswitch – it sure beats the duct-tape nightmare of my childhood years!
