Growing up, I remember enjoying flashlights. We had a few small/cheap flashlights we got for free with another purchase at a local hardware store that runs off of AAA's. They are not too bright, but my 2 1/2 year old daughter loves it. We try to teach her not to shine the light in people's eyes, and since it is not too bright a flashlight...we do not lose our vision with set-backs on this lesson. I expected to need to use rechargeable batteries because of the light being left on. Much to my surprise...she turns it off when not in use. Her flashlight is especially helpful/fun when camping and daddy/mommy need her to use her flashlight to show the way to and from the tent. We don't let her take it to bed....yet.
That was my concern too, but the cheap flashlight she got was LED, so the batteries last forever..and second, she is really good about turning it off. We should it become a problem, we have a bunch of rechargeable batteries we plan on dipping into.
My son loves our big heavy duty flash light that takes D batteries. He has been able to carry this around since he was able to walk. He can carry a 5# weight in each hand for short distances. We haven't been playing games with him.
Re: Flashlights for the little ones