I tried these smart lights in my son’s room — and it’s made bedtime a breeze

Govee Glide Hexa Light
(Image credit: Govee)

Any parent will know that getting their child to bed on time (and to actually sleep), can be a task in itself. My 11-year-old son still cannot sleep without his night light on, wall string lights or any other form of illumination at bedtimes. And if they get switched off, he will wake up in the middle of the night, without fail, to turn them back on — further disrupting the quality of his sleep.

In any case, this often means we have to keep switching lights off in the middle of the night, and with soaring energy bills, this can be costly in the long run. 

This is one of the reasons why so many households are switching to the best smart lights. Admittedly, we’ve always been wary of putting smart devices in our child’s room, questioning how safe such devices really are for children. But since the majority of smart devices for kids have a handful of parental controls, I decided to try out the Govee Glide Hexa Light Panels ($199, Amazon) in my son’s bedroom.

Govee Glide Wall Light Blue Tone

Govee Glide Wall Light Blue Tone (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Much to his delight, the Govee Glide Hexa Light Panels consist of 10 panels that allow you to style your own, quirky shapes on the wall. Once you enter the configuration on the Govee Home app, you can then change the colors of the individual lights or entire arrangement.

After the first week of having the smart lights on, my son slept so soundly that he didn’t even notice when the lights had eventually timed out.

You can also have timed schedules and voice commands options via Alexa and Google Assistant. As with the best smart light colors, the Govee Glide includes 30 preset and DIY lighting effects, RGBIC colors, moods, music mode, animated effects and more.  

My son was in awe, seriously impressed by the mini light show he was creating, in addition to having a trendy upgrade to his bedroom. We had quickly chosen his color tone preferences of cool blues and greens for daytime, and warm yellow and orange tones for the night. This also worked well to create a relaxing ambiance to replace the warm glow of his trusted night lamp. 

While the idea of having the smart lights was a bid to save money on our electric bills, it actually solved another issue.  After the first week of having the smart lights on, we didn’t hear the sound of a child’s footsteps getting out of bed in the middle of the night. In fact, my son slept so soundly that he didn’t even notice when the lights had eventually timed out. That also meant we didn’t have to keep going into his room during the night to turn off the lights. 

Govee Glide Wall Light

Govee Glide Wall Light  (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

In addition, having his personalised light show after dark made bedtimes more fun and appealing. After all, who wouldn’t want an aurora borealis, Northern Lights experience waiting for them in their room? One thing’s for sure, the smart lights have certainly made bedtimes a breeze, and could well be the best children’s sleep-aid yet. Best of all, my son (and us parents) can have a peaceful, uninterrupted night’s sleep. It’s a win-win all around!


If you want to know more, check out our best smart light switches and best smart speakers to get now. Also, you can connect the best smart light bulbs with your other best smart home devices such as your home security system, with voice assistants, such as Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri.   

Cynthia Lawrence
Content Editor, Homes

As the Homes Content Editor, Cynthia Lawrence covers all things homes, interior decorating, and garden-related. She has a wealth of editorial experience testing the latest, ‘must-have’ home appliances, writing buying guides and the handy ‘how to’ features. 

Her work has been published in various titles including, T3, Top Ten Reviews, Ideal Home, Real Homes, Livingetc. and House Beautiful, amongst many.

With a rather unhealthy obsession for all things homes and interiors, she also has an interior design blog for style inspiration and savvy storage solutions (get rid of that clutter!). When she’s not testing cool products, she’ll be searching online for more decor ideas to spruce up her family home or looking for a great bargain!