Working with a one year-old's light switch obsession
Kris's light switch hack keeps her son happy (for a while at least!):
My one year old son is enthralled with being helpful by turning on and off the lights in every room when we enter or exit. The only problem is, "on" is a lot harder to master than "off" and he gets very frustrated. The hack- turn him UPSIDE DOWN! The motion then becomes the same- he just has to push his finger down rather than trying to position it under the switch and lift up. As a bonus, he currently thinks being upside down is hilarious. A win-win situation.
(or any Amazon link at Parent Hacks), you throw some change into our tip jar without any extra steps or cost to you. Thank you!
How does one do this? You must be really tall and have a really light baby. As a 5 foot woman with a 32 lb baby, I can't see this happening. Maybe it's better for the Dads!
Posted by: Laura | 20 August 2007 at 05:57 PM
Great! I was just wondering what to do with my daughter. She'll be a year in a few weeks and that is now her favorite thing to do! Thanks.
Posted by: Ness | 20 August 2007 at 07:16 PM
Doesn't work in Australia .... our light switches are already upside down (No, I'm not joking, we flip down to turn the light on). Besides, most switches in Australia are more like a rocker than a toggle, so it's just a matter of my 20 month-old sliding his finger up and down to make his light show :) Gets frustrating when you are trying to get dinner ready and the little man is making a strobe effect.
Posted by: Rob | 20 August 2007 at 10:59 PM
Picking up the baby and turning her upside down might be fun now, but the phrase "Do again!" is coming soon and you may regret this hack. Do it once-- it's a treat
Do it twice-- it's a pattern
Do it three times-- do it forever
Posted by: Jill in Atlanta | 21 August 2007 at 08:48 AM
My little one couldn't quite say his "Ls" when he was in this stage, so he'd go through the rooms turning the lights on and off and yelling "Yight on! Yight off! Yight on! Yight off!"
Posted by: Kim Adams | 21 August 2007 at 09:59 AM
my lightswitch hack for our bathroom , install an auto sensor light that turns on the light when my kid runs in to the room so they can go to the bathroom right away with out having to call me to turn on the light or get a step stool to turn it on.
You can get the motion activated light switch at Lowes or home depot
Posted by: brad | 26 August 2007 at 09:19 PM
My sister has something like this attachment (found here: http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/206.html) that she uses in my niece's room to help her with the light switch.
Posted by: Vickie | 01 September 2007 at 11:16 PM