Desk Lamps for Children - Buyers' Guide

The list of items children need to start school is long: school bag, pencil case, pens, sports bag - back-to-school must be well prepared fpr. What many people forget when preparing their children for the start of the new school year is a suitable desk lamp. But it's essential. We explain the requirements for a children's desk lamp and give you some recommendations for a good children's desk lamp.

Why is a Children's Desk Lamp Important?

Many parents wonder whether a good ceiling light is enough to illuminate their child's room. At the latest when children start school and now use their room to do homework at their desk, additional lighting is needed in the form of a children's desk lamp.

Although a ceiling lights are ideal as ambient lighting in a child's room because it emits light evenly into the room, a desk lamp is better for learning. The desk lamp casts its light cone precisely where your child is drawing, learning to write or solving his or her first arithmetic problems. The light directed specifically onto the desk is better for the eyes and is also said to promote children's concentration. Only a desk lamp provides the focused lighting needed for learning.

How Learning and Light are Connected

Light is an important factor when it comes to creating a productive working atmosphere. Used correctly, it promotes concentration and can thus have a positive influence on learning success. Light has an emotional and a biological effect. For example, it can have a calming or stimulating effect and thus influence children's motivation to learn. So what is the right light for learning?

The Right Light for Learning

The best light for learning is and remains natural daylight. If you want to do your child some good, it is best to position the desk at a 90-degree angle to the window so that the daylight shines on the side of the desk. If the desk is placed facing the window, the light could be blinding; facing away from the window, the person at the desk, who then sits with his or her back to the window, does not get enough light.

Is daylight sufficient for learning and is it unnecessary to buy a desk lamp for children? Unfortunately not, because children do not only sit at their desks in perfect light conditions during the day. On overcast days, at dusk, or when the sun shines too strongly into the room and blinds, supportive artificial light is needed. Sometimes the artificial, direct light of the desk lamp is temporarily preferable to daylight.

The Light Colour of the Desk Lamp

Biologically, the colour of light has been proven to have an influence on the body. Warm white light, for example, promotes the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and is therefore rather counterproductive at children's desks. Cooler light with a high blue component, on the other hand, stimulates the mind and scores points as a desk light with its stimulating effect. Light with a high blue component is even said to have a positive effect on children's ability to concentrate. So look for high kelvin values above 5,300 kelvin for the desk lamp. The light then falls into the range of daylight white light.

Lux for Desk Lamps

You should also keep an eye on the illuminance value (lux) when looking for a desk lamp for schoolchildren. The lux value indicates the intensity of the luminous flux falling on the desk. For studying at a desk, the recommended illuminance is around 400 to 500 lux.

Positioning the Desk Lamp

When positioning the desk lamp, it is most important to make sure that the lamp does not cast an annoying shadow or blind. You can remember: A desk lamp should be placed opposite to the writing hand. For right-handers, place the lamp on the left and for left-handers on the right side of the desk. Before buying a desk lamp, check whether there are sockets on the right side of the desk or whether the lamp cable is long enough.

If a class assignment or a presentation is due at school, the Internet is often used for further research work. Here it is important to place the lamp behind the screen of the laptop or tablet. Because if the luminaire is positioned incorrectly, the light is reflected in the screen. This can make it difficult to see and reduce your child's concentration. For a healthy learning atmosphere, reflections on the monitor should be avoided.

Optics of the Desk lamp

Cool desk lamps come in all kinds of variations: Big, small, playful, simple and timeless - you can choose a lamp that matches the children's room furnishing.

What Size Should a Children's Desk Lamp be?

The size of the desk lamp should depend on the space available on the desk. If the desk is large and offers enough space for a large desk lamp, you can choose a larger model. If the desk is smaller, we recommend clamp lamps. These are lamps without a base that can be clamped to the desk top. They take up as little space as possible and are therefore the perfect solution for small desks.

Swivelling Desk Lamps

Adjustable desk lamps with a long swivel arm are advantageous. Then the lamp can be adjusted as needed. The more joints the lamp arm has, the more flexibly the desk lamp can be adjusted. A good alternative to lamps with rigid joints are lamps with a so-called gooseneck or flex arm. The lamp arm then consists of a flexible, interwoven metal tube that can usually be adjusted in all directions.

Selecting a Desk Lamp with Switch

One small component of the lamp should significantly influence the purchase decision: The light switch on the lamp. Who wants to insert the plug into the socket under the desk every time they want to turn on the desk lamp? Much more practical are switches on the lamp cable that can be used to operate the lamp from the desk. Another elegant solution is a touch switch on the lamp neck or lamp head. With Smart Home lamps, it is also possible to control the desk lamps by voice command.

The lamp Base Should be Stable

When buying a desk lamp for schoolchildren, look for a stable lamp base so that the lamp does not topple over and remains stable - regardless of the setting.

Go for LED Desk Lamps

If you want an energy-saving lighting solution, you should choose LED desk lamps for your children's room. In addition to lasting for a long time, LED lamps do not heat up so quickly.

Create the perfect learning environment for your child - with the right light!