Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My son just turned 3 and finally started hopping out of his crib. Naptime because a distant memory and I found myself tired and having a cranky preschooler in the evening. I brainstormed a few ideas to bring naptime back, one of them being blackout curtains (I'll tell you the others at the end). My husband and I have blackout curtains in our room and love them. I ordered 2 sets of these for my sons windows and am happy with them. Here are a few brief thoughts: -Size: The windows I bought these for are 71" horizontally and 33" vertically. My husband was annoyed that I got them so much bigger than his windows, but I remembered from buying them for my room that the farther it hangs over on the top, bottom and sides, the more blackout effect you get. So, we installed the rod about 6 inches above the window and 6 inches wider on each side. This allows for some overlap so the sun doesn't peek through as much on the sides. Bottom line: I recommend getting them bigger than your window so you have this space. -Blackout effect: There is still a faint amount of light that shines through. To be fair, the description does say that it "Impedes 85%-99% of light and UV ray (Dark color curtains work better)". My black ones from a different seller don't let any light through (they are more expensive as well). I have read in other reviews, that the lighter the curtain, the more light that comes through. I wanted gray because it's a little more subtle than black and I think they look better in a kids room. I want to just warn you that with these there isn't a solid blackout, it reduces the light by about 90%. I used to work night shift and sleep during the day, which is why I have blackout ones in my room. I wouldn't have been happy with these for myself in those circumstances. Anyway, I wish my husband would've hung the rod higher, nearly at the top of the ceiling. The room is about 90% darker than if I had no curtains though. I'm posting a few pictures so you can see. Keep in mind this is with the gray color. Each color might vary some with how much blackout you get. -Quality: These are soft and fairly heavy. The rings at the top are good quality and there are no stitching issues. I don't know if the light showing through mine is because of the color or quality though. Overall, I am happy with how well these have worked for me. My son is now napping 2 hours a day again. They don't completely block the sun like my other set Best Home Fashion Wide Width Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain - Antique Bronze Grommet Top - Black - 100"W x 84"L - (1 Panel) for my sliding glass door window and Best Home Fashion Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains - Antique Bronze Grommet Top - Black - 52"W x 63"L - (Set of 2 Panels) for my shorter window. Those were a little more expensive though. I went with the Nicetown ones for the price this time. I can finally get some stuff done around the house and he is in a wonderful mood during the evenings. My advice: Get them longer and wider than your window by a bit, hang the rod high and get black if you truly want a blackout effect. If you're looking for curtains for the same reason I did, here are my recommendations. I turned my sons bed into a toddler bed. I bought him Paw Patrol bedding since it's his favorite. I really emphasized how he was a big boy now. I now lay him down, close the curtains and dim the lights. We read 4 books of his choosing with him laying down getting snuggled in under his blankets. I then set his stop light. This and the curtains were the best purchases ever. It's this light Stoplight Golight Timer, Yellow/Black . You set the timer on top. The light stays red until the time you selected and then it turns green. My son knows that he needs to stay in bed until it turns green. When he wakes up either from a nap or in the morning, he runs to me all excited about how he can get up now that it's green.