Q: I understand that you put a lot of consideration into the products that you choose to carry at HealthEGoods.com, why did you choose to carry the Cloud B Twilight Animals? What stands out about them?
A: Yes, I do scrutinize the products from numerous directions before making them available online at HealthEGoods.com.
Cloud B was no exception.
I am not sold when a supplier tells me that they have won this award or that award and some journal says they are incredible. Cloud B has many awards and a lot of press.
Cloud B was very gracious in providing answers to my countless questions about product safety, creation, materials used, lab tests, quality control and durability. Their answers to my questions were thorough and I am glad to offer their products at HealthEGoods.com
Why did I choose the Cloud B Twilight Animals? My accountant asked me the same thing. He said: “Focus Ben focus. Don’t lose focus. Now you’re selling toys and animals?!”
We had a good laugh and then he became serious once I told him about how the Twilight Animals do not disrupt melatonin levels causing sleep disturbance and cranky kids the next morning.
I have three boys: 1, 4, and 7. Believe me, I want my boys to sleep well.
We have gone through many nightlights for various reasons.
One reason:
Given my medical training, I do not like most nightlights because they release too much light, which disrupts the melatonin pathway. Melatonin is released in complete darkness and goes away with complete light ,which partly explains sleepiness and wakefulness.
I like my boys to wake rested, alert, and ready to go without having to worry if they got a good night’s rest.
Second reason:
Having a glass light bulb exposed like that is just not a good idea. I replaced bulb after bulb and luckily didn’t have to remove any glass shards from my boys’ hands or feet.
Third reason:
My boys always pulled the other nightlights out of the walls. They loved the image on the front: Batman, cows, stars, what-have-you, and would walk around the house with the nightlight. Thus, the nightlights got lost or broken all the time.
Q: What stands out about the Twilight Animals from Cloud B?
A: They’re durable, cool looking, have automatic shut-off features, blue and green soft lights, and they’re safe.
My kids have tested the durability – and yes they did break one of the Twilight Sea Turtles. We brought it with us to Russia this last summer as our middle boy, Mathew, really wanted to bring it. He realized that it was not needed given that we had white nights there all summer but never mind 
All the kids in our village loved the Twilight Sea Turtle even when it was not working. One day I was outside doing something and I saw the Twilight Sea Turtle take flight over and over again with the Gentle Giraffe. Then there was a crash landing against a tree. The Twilight Sea Turtle fared surprisingly well; however something inside busted and the switch did not work anymore. It stayed on or off.
So – I recommend that the Twilight Sea Turtle and other Twilight Animals stay indoors and not take flight. They will work for many years.
Cool looking speaks for itself. Even the tough Russian boys and girls loved them.
The Automatic shut-off is key. The soft blue and green light on the ceiling calms my boys down enough so we do not need any other bright nightlights. The setting is around 20 minutes which is how long it takes for the average kid to enter REM sleep. I keep ours on that setting. Then, after 20 minutes, the room is very dark.
So what happens if the kids wake up at night and have to do something? My kids do not. They sleep well. They are not restless. They do not get up to pee. They just sleep. I have many tricks for this and yes it is purely natural. Ask me sometime
Q: Are the Cloud B Twilight Animals good gifts for both boys and girls? Are there any in particular that you think are better suited for either boys or girls?
A: Definitely. Cloud B Twilight Animals are great for kids ages 10 and under I would say. Given that my oldest is 7, I am not at full liberty to say the proper age to stop with the nightlights. I should comment that two of our staff have the Twilight Animals – and they are in their 20’s.
I’d leave the second question up to the parents. Each kid is different. Some kids love the ladybugs, some love the turtles, some love the sea turtles. Some have no clue what they like so my guess is that any kid would like any one of them.
Since I have over 200 of these Twilight Animals in stock at any one time, my kids got really excited once when they saw a semi-truck pull up and unload pallets of them at our warehouse. Believe me, it was a fight getting them to pick just one.
Q: Do you have a personal favorite between the Twilight Turtle, Sea Turtle, or Ladybug?
A: I am not the type of person to have favorites. I enjoy many things which is one reason why I have such a large warehouse
However, what I can offer is from our sales data, the Twilight Sea Turtle is the most popular of the three followed by the Twilight Ladybug and then the Twilight Turtle.
If I were forced to choose, I think I would choose the Twilight Sea Turtle myself.
Q: What are your absolute favorite features of the Twilight Animals, or any of the animals in particular?
A: My absolute favorite feature of the Twilight Animals is that they allow my boys to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake rested. With all other nightlights, they were too bright for my oldest, Tasman, and too dark for my middle boy, Mathew.
Then add up the safety, durability, and cool factor and that is a pretty good factor also because that means the kids will use it allowing them to have more effective sleep.
Q: Though the Twilight Animals are for ages two and up, are they toys that older children or adults may like as well?
A: As I mentioned above, two of our staff members at HealthEGoods.com have Twilight Animals. I would as well but our youngest, Theo, would wake up as he sleeps in our room still. He is very sensitive to light. For Theo to go to sleep we use a different product which acts like a sunset. Ask me sometime…
I do have a 78-year-old friend though that loves the Twilight Animals.
So I would say the Twilight Animals are for 2-yrs. old and up as Cloud B recommends.
Q: How is the construction of the Twilight Animal plastic shells and light boxes? Do parents need to worry about the shells or lights breaking if they are dropped?
A: Not in the least. These Twilight Animals are tough.
We brought our Twilight Sea Turtle to Russia. It lived there well until it met its doom against a Birch tree trunk. We ‘fixed it’ and brought it back as Mathew would have had a fit if we left it there. I ended up getting another Twilight Sea Turtle from our warehouse when we got back and swapped it out for the damaged one.
Q: Do the Twilight Animals stay on all night, or do they shut themselves off after a certain time period?
A: There is a switch on the belly of the Twilight Animals. The default timer is 22 minutes and there is another setting for ‘restless kids’ at about 44 minutes. They do automatically shut off, which is a huge plus.
If it takes your child 44 minutes to fall asleep, there is another issue that might need to be worked out–or issues, such as:
What did your child do before sleep? Movie, Wii, TV, playdate, sports? All bad news. Should have at least 30 minutes of downtime reading a calming book or telling stories with parents. I love making up stories for my kids off the cuff. Also, what did your child eat an hour before sleep? Multivitamins? Carb-loaded foods? Ice cream? All bad news. Gotta get some protein in there.
I can go on and on here. Gotta ask me sometime…
Q: Are the batteries and light bulbs easy to replace if they run out?
A: Yep. Simply turn over the Twilight Animal, do some minor surgery on their belly and out pops the batteries – two AA - which every parent has in the house.
Q: Are the Twilight Animals easy to clean if your child accidentally spills something on them?
A: Clean? We are supposed to clean them? I guess you could, given that their shell is durable and their feet and head are like a stuffed animal. Simply wipe it down with a damp–not wet–cloth.
Q: We’ve heard that the Twilight Animals double as educational tools, how?
A: They have little lights around the perimeter which light up when you push a button. Each time you push a button, a different animal is lit up. There is a book that comes with each Twilight Animal and educates the kids about them.
My boys read the book the first day, pushed the button and looked at all the animals for another week, and now it purely acts as a nightlight.
I think the educational part is a bit of a stretch personally. We lost the book already.
Q: Do the light boxes in the Twilight Animals’ shells make them heavy for children to carry?
A: They are extremely light. Theo, our 1-year-old boy, carries them around all the time.
Remember Mathew brought it with him to Russia. That was a 30-hour trip from door to door. Yes – he carried it in his backpack.
Q: Do you think the Twilight Animals do a good job of acting as night lights and possibly reducing children’s fears of the dark?
A: Definitely – without question. Mathew is quite spooked of the dark due to some help from his brother, Tasman. Tasman loves to tell stories and is way into Star Wars and monsters.
This doesn’t help put Mathew at ease before sleep.
His Twilight Sea Turtle does.
I also help by telling Tasman to change the topic before we approach bedtime. He is good about it now.
Q: Do the Twilight Animals come with a warranty?
A: You know that is a good question. I am not sure.
Of the 1,000 or more that we have sold, we have never had a defective one.
According to Tony, We have had two returns simply because they did not want them or wanted to exchange them.
Tony is checking up on the warranty details. We will update our website with that information once we receive it.
HealthEGoods.com does offer 30-day returns.
Q: In your opinion, are there any downsides to the Twilight Animals?
A: Downsides….hmmm – I am not sure.
I am sure there are some parents who say:
“Why doesn’t it stay on all night?”
Well – I answered that one for you.
“Why does it not have a plug in feature?”
Safety? Kids chewing on the cord? Not portable?
“Why isn’t it waterproof?”
What? Bath time? Wrong toy.
“I want more choices.”
More choices means harder to choose which one to get. The three options available are great.
If you noticed, the animals are all flat backed, which is necessary. You cannot have an effective Twilight Animal Triceraptops which would shine constellations directly at the kids’ faces preventing them from sleeping.
Q: Are there any other thoughts you have on the Cloud B Twilight Animals that you think parents should know about or keep in mind?
A: I think parents should rip out all the standard nightlights, turn off the hallway lights, and get a Twilight Animal.
Their kids will sleep much better, act better, and yes–get along with each other better.
By adding a Twilight Animal to proper bedtime routines and healthy dinners, I can assure you a happier and healthier kid.
That’s coming from a father of three and a physician.
Thanks for asking me these questions, Jennifer.
See you next time.
Dr. Ben
Q: I understand that you put a lot of consideration into the products that you choose to carry at HealthEGoods.com, why did you choose to carry the Cloud B Twilight Animals? What stands out about them?
A: Yes, I do scrutinize the products from numerous directions before making them available online at HealthEGoods.com.
Cloud B was no exception.
I am not sold when a supplier tells me that they have won this award or that award and some journal says they are incredible. Cloud B has many awards and a lot of press.
Cloud B was very gracious in providing answers to my countless questions about product safety, creation, materials used, lab tests, quality control and durability. Their answers to my questions were thorough and I am glad to offer their products at HealthEGoods.com
Why did I choose the Cloud B Twilight Animals? My accountant asked me the same thing. He said: “Focus Ben focus. Don’t lose focus. Now you’re selling toys and animals?!”
We had a good laugh and then he became serious once I told him about how the Twilight Animals do not disrupt melatonin levels causing sleep disturbance and cranky kids the next morning.
I have three boys: 1, 4, and 7. Believe me, I want my boys to sleep well.
We have gone through many nightlights for various reasons.
One reason:
Given my medical training, I do not like most nightlights because they release too much light, which disrupts the melatonin pathway. Melatonin is released in complete darkness and goes away with complete light ,which partly explains sleepiness and wakefulness.
I like my boys to wake rested, alert, and ready to go without having to worry if they got a good night’s rest.
Second reason:
Having a glass light bulb exposed like that is just not a good idea. I replaced bulb after bulb and luckily didn’t have to remove any glass shards from my boys’ hands or feet.
Third reason:
My boys always pulled the other nightlights out of the walls. They loved the image on the front: Batman, cows, stars, what-have-you, and would walk around the house with the nightlight. Thus, the nightlights got lost or broken all the time.
Q: What stands out about the Twilight Animals from Cloud B?
A: They’re durable, cool looking, have automatic shut-off features, blue and green soft lights, and they’re safe.
My kids have tested the durability – and yes they did break one of the Twilight Sea Turtles. We brought it with us to Russia this last summer as our middle boy, Mathew, really wanted to bring it. He realized that it was not needed given that we had white nights there all summer but never mind
All the kids in our village loved the Twilight Sea Turtle even when it was not working. One day I was outside doing something and I saw the Twilight Sea Turtle take flight over and over again with the Gentle Giraffe. Then there was a crash landing against a tree. The Twilight Sea Turtle fared surprisingly well; however something inside busted and the switch did not work anymore. It stayed on or off.
So – I recommend that the Twilight Sea Turtle and other Twilight Animals stay indoors and not take flight. They will work for many years.
Cool looking speaks for itself. Even the tough Russian boys and girls loved them.
The Automatic shut-off is key. The soft blue and green light on the ceiling calms my boys down enough so we do not need any other bright nightlights. The setting is around 20 minutes which is how long it takes for the average kid to enter REM sleep. I keep ours on that setting. Then, after 20 minutes, the room is very dark.
So what happens if the kids wake up at night and have to do something? My kids do not. They sleep well. They are not restless. They do not get up to pee. They just sleep. I have many tricks for this and yes it is purely natural. Ask me sometime
Q: Are the Cloud B Twilight Animals good gifts for both boys and girls? Are there any in particular that you think are better suited for either boys or girls?
A: Definitely. Cloud B Twilight Animals are great for kids ages 10 and under I would say. Given that my oldest is 7, I am not at full liberty to say the proper age to stop with the nightlights. I should comment that two of our staff have the Twilight Animals – and they are in their 20’s.
I’d leave the second question up to the parents. Each kid is different. Some kids love the ladybugs, some love the turtles, some love the sea turtles. Some have no clue what they like so my guess is that any kid would like any one of them.
Since I have over 200 of these Twilight Animals in stock at any one time, my kids got really excited once when they saw a semi-truck pull up and unload pallets of them at our warehouse. Believe me, it was a fight getting them to pick just one.
Q: Do you have a personal favorite between the Twilight Turtle, Sea Turtle, or Ladybug?
A: I am not the type of person to have favorites. I enjoy many things which is one reason why I have such a large warehouse
However, what I can offer is from our sales data, the Twilight Sea Turtle is the most popular of the three followed by the Twilight Ladybug and then the Twilight Turtle.
If I were forced to choose, I think I would choose the Twilight Sea Turtle myself.
Q: What are your absolute favorite features of the Twilight Animals, or any of the animals in particular?
A: My absolute favorite feature of the Twilight Animals is that they allow my boys to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake rested. With all other nightlights, they were too bright for my oldest, Tasman, and too dark for my middle boy, Mathew.
Then add up the safety, durability, and cool factor and that is a pretty good factor also because that means the kids will use it allowing them to have more effective sleep.
Q: Though the Twilight Animals are for ages two and up, are they toys that older children or adults may like as well?
A: As I mentioned above, two of our staff members at HealthEGoods.com have Twilight Animals. I would as well but our youngest, Theo, would wake up as he sleeps in our room still. He is very sensitive to light. For Theo to go to sleep we use a different product which acts like a sunset. Ask me sometime…
I do have a 78-year-old friend though that loves the Twilight Animals.
So I would say the Twilight Animals are for 2-yrs. old and up as Cloud B recommends.
Q: How is the construction of the Twilight Animal plastic shells and light boxes? Do parents need to worry about the shells or lights breaking if they are dropped?
A: Not in the least. These Twilight Animals are tough.
We brought our Twilight Sea Turtle to Russia. It lived there well until it met its doom against a Birch tree trunk. We ‘fixed it’ and brought it back as Mathew would have had a fit if we left it there. I ended up getting another Twilight Sea Turtle from our warehouse when we got back and swapped it out for the damaged one.
Q: Do the Twilight Animals stay on all night, or do they shut themselves off after a certain time period?
A: There is a switch on the belly of the Twilight Animals. The default timer is 22 minutes and there is another setting for ‘restless kids’ at about 44 minutes. They do automatically shut off, which is a huge plus.
If it takes your child 44 minutes to fall asleep, there is another issue that might need to be worked out–or issues, such as:
What did your child do before sleep? Movie, Wii, TV, playdate, sports? All bad news. Should have at least 30 minutes of downtime reading a calming book or telling stories with parents. I love making up stories for my kids off the cuff. Also, what did your child eat an hour before sleep? Multivitamins? Carb-loaded foods? Ice cream? All bad news. Gotta get some protein in there.
I can go on and on here. Gotta ask me sometime…
Q: Are the batteries and light bulbs easy to replace if they run out?
A: Yep. Simply turn over the Twilight Animal, do some minor surgery on their belly and out pops the batteries – two AA - which every parent has in the house.
Q: Are the Twilight Animals easy to clean if your child accidentally spills something on them?
A: Clean? We are supposed to clean them? I guess you could, given that their shell is durable and their feet and head are like a stuffed animal. Simply wipe it down with a damp–not wet–cloth.
Q: We’ve heard that the Twilight Animals double as educational tools, how?
A: They have little lights around the perimeter which light up when you push a button. Each time you push a button, a different animal is lit up. There is a book that comes with each Twilight Animal and educates the kids about them.
My boys read the book the first day, pushed the button and looked at all the animals for another week, and now it purely acts as a nightlight.
I think the educational part is a bit of a stretch personally. We lost the book already.
Q: Do the light boxes in the Twilight Animals’ shells make them heavy for children to carry?
A: They are extremely light. Theo, our 1-year-old boy, carries them around all the time.
Remember Mathew brought it with him to Russia. That was a 30-hour trip from door to door. Yes – he carried it in his backpack.
Q: Do you think the Twilight Animals do a good job of acting as night lights and possibly reducing children’s fears of the dark?
A: Definitely – without question. Mathew is quite spooked of the dark due to some help from his brother, Tasman. Tasman loves to tell stories and is way into Star Wars and monsters.
This doesn’t help put Mathew at ease before sleep.
His Twilight Sea Turtle does.
I also help by telling Tasman to change the topic before we approach bedtime. He is good about it now.
Q: Do the Twilight Animals come with a warranty?
A: You know that is a good question. I am not sure.
Of the 1,000 or more that we have sold, we have never had a defective one.
According to Tony, We have had two returns simply because they did not want them or wanted to exchange them.
Tony is checking up on the warranty details. We will update our website with that information once we receive it.
HealthEGoods.com does offer 30-day returns.
Q: In your opinion, are there any downsides to the Twilight Animals?
A: Downsides….hmmm – I am not sure.
I am sure there are some parents who say:
“Why doesn’t it stay on all night?”
Well – I answered that one for you.
“Why does it not have a plug in feature?”
Safety? Kids chewing on the cord? Not portable?
“Why isn’t it waterproof?”
What? Bath time? Wrong toy.
“I want more choices.”
More choices means harder to choose which one to get. The three options available are great.
If you noticed, the animals are all flat backed, which is necessary. You cannot have an effective Twilight Animal Triceraptops which would shine constellations directly at the kids’ faces preventing them from sleeping.
Q: Are there any other thoughts you have on the Cloud B Twilight Animals that you think parents should know about or keep in mind?
A: I think parents should rip out all the standard nightlights, turn off the hallway lights, and get a Twilight Animal.
Their kids will sleep much better, act better, and yes–get along with each other better.
By adding a Twilight Animal to proper bedtime routines and healthy dinners, I can assure you a happier and healthier kid.
That’s coming from a father of three and a physician.
Thanks for asking me these questions, Jennifer.
See you next time.
Dr. Ben