Ways to make a child's workspace at home more conducive

A desk should be lit in such a way that the child does not cast shadows on the books and exercise books while working. Photos: dpa

CHILDREN need a comfortable place at home where they can do their homework. Proper lighting, particularly in the evening, plays a key role. Lamp expert Iris Vollmann of Frankfurt-based Licht.de, a German lighting industry marketing organisation, has four tips on brightening kids’ workspace.

Uniform ambient lighting

A room that’s evenly lit promotes concentration, Vollmann says, as it’s easy on the eyes. When you look around the room, your eyes don’t constantly have to adjust to different degrees of brightness.

This means kids’ workspace shouldn’t be lit with a desk lamp only – the room’s general lighting should be switched on as well. Indirect light on the ceiling and walls – for example from wall-mounted or free-standing lamps – is usually felt to be pleasant. Alternatively, you can install diffusely radiating ceiling lamps or track lighting systems with fixture heads that illuminate a wide area.

A workplace for children and their homework should be lit up by several different sources of light.

Anti-glare desk illumination

The task lighting at the workspace should have two components: an anti-glare pendant lamp over the desk that casts both direct and indirect light, and a desk lamp with a swivel arm and rotating head.

The desk lamp should be positioned so that the child’s writing hand doesn’t cast a shadow. So for right-handers, it should stand on the left side of the desktop, and vice versa. And the lamp shouldn’t cause reflections off a computer or tablet display the child uses, or off shiny surfaces either on or near the desk.

Colour temperature suited to time of day

It’s helpful when the colour temperature of artificial light from lamps corresponds to natural light at that time of day. According to Vollmann, neutral white light of 3500K or more on the Kelvin scale is beneficial in the morning and early afternoon.

“The high proportion of blue tones in it makes you alert and promotes concentration,” she says.

”In the evening, a subdued, warm light (maximum of 2700K) is advisable so as not to unnecessarily disrupt the sleep-wake cycle,” she points out. “And the computer display should be set to night light.”

Children who have to do schoolwork at home need a good spot to do it.

Sufficient illuminance

The illuminance level of ambient lighting in a room used for study should be at least 300 lux, Vollmann says. This is reached by light bulbs with about 600 lumens (you can find the value on the package when you purchase them).

The workspace itself should be illuminated with at least 500 lux, produced by light bulbs with 1,000 lumens. You can test the room’s illuminance with a lux meter or smartphone light meter app. – dpa