9 best night lights that will comfort babies and kids

Polish brand Moonie is all about beautiful, simple and well-designed sleep aids and toys. This rabbit is adorable, soft to the touch and, thanks to the light and sound module hidden in its tummy, rather clever. While it’s the most expensive option on our list, it offers a lot, and we love that you can use the ears to tie it to a cot or stroller. Charging takes around three hours, via the USB cable provided, after which you’ll get around nine hours of use.

Everything feels rather gentle with Moonie, which is just what you want to settle a baby or child fighting sleep. There are seven soft colours, and five different soothing white and pink noise sounds, mimicking the frequencies of heartbeats, wind, rustling leaves and steady rain – plus, there are more traditional lullabies. It’s incredibly intuitive to use. Squeeze the bunny’s back to turn it on, and double squeeze to go through the sound library, or hold down to change the volume. You can do all these things without removing the module unit inside.

However, if you want to change the light modes (there are five to choose from) you’ll need to take out the unit through the side zip. Our favourite setting is the simple mood light, offering a warm glow that you can set to pulsate. There’s also a built-in smart cry detector, so the light will start up when the device senses sounds of distress. It will also shut off automatically after 30 minutes. Plus, simply remove the module unit, and you can pop this rabbit in the wash.

This is a really nifty piece of kit from baby brand Infantino. For its size – and cost – it’s bursting with features. It’s designed to work in three stages: starting life as a crib soothing light, then a crib projector and graduating as a table-top night lamp.

There are two straps supplied to attach the device to a cot – it’s worth bearing in mind this model only attaches if your cot has bars. A standout feature for us has to be the smart sound sensor – when a cry is detected, the night light turns on automatically, saving you a trip out of bed.

We also like that you can control the volume using a switch at the rear, or you can choose not to have the melodies/natural sounds (of which there are nine in total) playing at all, but our mini tester seemed to rather like them. It’s so easy to switch from ordinary night light to projector, just by swivelling the grey cover, and the starry projection looks lovely on a wall or ceiling.

While this model is wonderfully portable, it’s a shame it’s battery-powered. However, the 10-minute auto shut-off does preserve the battery and ours is still going strong after two weeks. We also like that there’s some longevity to this, as it can be used as a bedroom lamp once your child is a little older.

This night light from Tommee Tippee is a game-changer. The main penguin light is charged via a USB cable (it doesn’t come with an adaptor) and acts as a hub for the portable egg-shaped light. The idea behind this product is to provide a fixed nursery night light to check on your baby once they’re in their own room, then, once they hit 18 months of age, they can use the portable egg night light independently, making this a great option in terms of longevity.

The tactile silicone egg is not only lovely to the touch, it’s also the perfect size for little hands to carry and hold – our two-year-old tester loved looking after it. Both lights are dimmable – the penguin has a dimmer switch at the back, while the egg has a discreet button on the top, which has three brightness settings. Once the egg is charged (a full charge takes eight hours) it is touted as lasting 10 hours, although, we found it exceeded this.

Who wouldn’t want this adorable panda keeping a watchful eye over them at night? Nordic brand Liewood is known for its eco credentials, and this is demonstrated in this rechargeable night light. Before use, you’ll need to charge this little fella for three hours with the included USB charging lead – this will provide an impressive 12 hours of gentle soft glow, which is more than enough to see you through the night. The environmentally friendly soft silicone is tactile to the touch, and our three-year-old tester loved moving it around her bedroom.

If you’re in the throws of decorating a nursery, and looking for a multifunctional product that not only looks good, but provides a service, this could be just the ticket. Making an adorable wall display, this cute elephant design will suit any nursery style. Inside the box, you’ll find a large and medium elephant shelf, as well as a little elephant being holding onto the balloon light. The light provides a soft soothing glow and is powered by 3 AAA batteries.

Even those not enamoured with DIY will find this a doddle to put up on the wall.

This is the most compact night light of those we tested, which makes it a great portable choice. Don’t be put off by its size, either – it’s small but mighty. The sweet cloud design looks lovely by baby’s side and it can be attached to cot bars or a stroller, using the Velcro loop. This little magical cloud will work through six colours before gently fading to dark after 30 minutes, and you can choose to have this accompanied by 10 lullabies, four different sounds inspired by nature, or a calming heartbeat noise.

The lullabies are lovely, and include classics such as “Hush Little Baby” and “Mary had a Little Lamb”. You can switch through the music, using the arrows button at the back, or hold it down for about three seconds and it’ll play all of the lullabies in a sequence and auto stop after around  30 minutes. We also like that you can adjust the volume and choose to have music and light together or separately. You’ll need to buy three AA batteries, and we did find these needed replacing after about a week.

Transform your baby’s nursery or toddler’s bedroom into a calming underwater haven, with this musical projector from Angelcare. You’ll need three AA batteries to power this product, but the result is rather impressive, as the projection coupled with sounds is just magical.

With the whale creating animated shapes with waves and swimming fish, you can choose how intense you’d like the light – there are three settings, and it works best in a completely dark room. Combine the projection with the gentle marine melody, wave-inspired lullaby or white noise, and you’ve created a serene spa-like space for your baby.

There are four different volumes or you can opt for no sound at all, and the music will turn off automatically after 15 minutes, while the projector will shut off after 22 minutes. We also love that you can remove the projector module and pop the whale in the wash. Again, we’d love to see this as a rechargeable product, as it does drink battery juice quickly.

Chicco is well known for its baby essentials, and, if you’re a next2me user, this night light is probably on your radar. Even if you’re not familiar with the brand, the next2stars is an effective product. Sounding classical works from the likes of Beethoven, Bach and Schumann, this is one sophisticated night light.

There are seven melodies in total, which can be flicked through using the aptly illustrated music button at the front. You’re able to adjust the volume using the wheel at the back (this also turns it off and on) and you can alter the light mode. In lamp mode, it provides a soft projection glow, while, as a projector, it’ll work its way through a collection of colours – this is, of course, best seen in complete darkness. You can also use it in night light mode, whereby the little moon button lights up, providing a smattering of light.

To run through the rainbow of colours this night light offers will take around 30 minutes, it will then go into standby mode – useful for a product powered by three AA batteries. When in standby mode, the built-in sound sensor means the next2stars can activate its light and sound cycle automatically, if it senses crying.

The standout feature for us, though, is how versatile the attachment is. Yes, the perfect match is a next2me crib but it’s also compatible with other bedside cribs and travel cots, making it perfect for trips away. Oh, and the addition of a little bear went down a storm with our three-year-old tester.

This all-singing, all-dancing offering from Babymoov is a smart way to train your little one to know the difference between night-time and daytime. It has four feature buttons hidden away at the back of the product – by activating the sleep function, you can teach little ones when to sleep and when to wake up. Glowing blue when it’s time to sleep and a soft yellow when it’s time to wake up, this model’s instructions were easy to follow, and you can adjust the timings for full sleeps or shorter naps.

You can also choose between a steady light or a projection of a magical starry sky on the wall, by turning the casing. The base emits the colours of the rainbow either randomly or in fixed mode, using the night light button, and can be placed on a timer to reserve battery life. We did find we needed to charge this device every couple of days but, given the functionality, we weren’t surprised.

There are six lullabies to choose from (again, these can be placed on a timer), plus a white noise option, and the volume can be adjusted. We love that it’s been designed with an ergonomic handle, so youngsters can carry it themselves.