How to enable my 2.5-year-old to read after going to bed when he shares a room with my 1-year-old?

Question

My 2.5-year-old son likes to read. We put him down early enough that he is often awake for 30 minutes or so before falling asleep. I would like to enable him to read on his own for a bit to pass the time (and for education!) before falling asleep.

Requirements:

1. He shares a room with his 1-year-old sister, so whatever solution we use must not keep her awake.
2. If the solution is to use some sort of light, the light must turn off on its own.

One thought was to give him a timer nightlight, but it's not really a flashlight so it won't illuminate the pages well. If I cannot get a better recommendation of what to do, I'll try doing this. But I'm looking for a better recommendation.

Answer 1

Why not get a normal reading light and have it on a time so it goes off after an hour or so? That way if he falls asleep then it will just go off? I'm guessing a 2.5yo will probably fall asleep with the torch still on and you'll constantly be changing batteries. The nightlight wont illuminate that well and I'd be concerned about eye strain if he used that?

Answer 2

I think at that age is a good idea to maintain a distinction between reading time and sleeping time. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to encourage, or even allow your 2.5 year old to read by himself in bed.

Reading of course is very important, but so is sleep, and a 2.5 year old needs almost as much sleep as your 1 year old.

Bedtime I think should mean just that. The lights turn off and you go to sleep.

Perhaps you could try other techniques to try to help him get to sleep. Music or meditation for example.

What we've found works well for our son, is to ask him to close his eyes and think about something from one of his favourite books. When he is no longer actively thinking about trying to go to sleep, he will often fall asleep more easily.