At 2am the question is simple: can she get from the bed to the bathroom without guessing where the floor drops, where the threshold rises, or where a rug curls? A night light answers that only if it is placed for the route, not for whichever wall outlet happens to be free.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Walk the route before you shop
With the overhead lights off, walk the path at her pace. Start at the bed, pass the dresser, cross the bedroom door, go down the hall, and end at the bathroom threshold. Mark every place where the floor changes: a step, a transition strip, a rug edge, a cord. Those are the spots the light has to reach. Note the height of her bed and the height of the switch she reaches for first, because a light she has to find by feel does little good.
What to compare
Compare the lights by how they turn on, not by how bright they look on the shelf. Some switch on when they sense movement, some on a timer, some when the room gets dark, and some only when a person presses a button. A motion light helps when she does not have to reach for anything, but check its range and whether a curtain, a pet, or a moving fan can trigger it all night. A plug-in light she must switch on herself works only if she can find the switch with the hand she uses most.
Compare how the light falls. You want light low on the floor and at the edge of each step, not a glare in the eyes from a bulb set at face height. Read the package or ask the seller where the light is aimed. The brightness number on the box matters less than what you see on the floor at the threshold when you test it.
Compare the upkeep. Find where the battery sits, how long it lasts in the product you are considering, and how a bulb is replaced. A light that needs a ladder to change is a light that will sit dark for a week.
Test it at night
Put the light in place and turn the room light off. Have a second person stand where she would stand and walk the route slowly, the way she walks, not the way you do. Watch whether the light comes on early enough, stays on long enough after she stops moving, and shows the edge of the step without throwing a shadow across it. Ask her to look at the path with her glasses on, since that is how she will see it.
Name who checks it
Write down who will change the batteries, who will confirm the sensor still responds after a move or a remodel, and who will replace the light when it fails. If no name is on that list, the light will fail quietly.
When to bring it to the care team
If she is getting up more often at night, if the route has changed since the light went in, or if she has stumbled in the dark even once, tell the care team. A light is a useful part of the plan, but the plan itself may need to change. The care team can look at the whole night with you, and a light cannot do that.