Smart bulbs expect to always have current. If you’re turning them off with a dumb switch, you’re taking them off the network so status can’t be tracked.
The easiest thing from a daily living standpoint is to add a smart switch. That way you can turn them off at the switch but still keep them on the network.
See:
It depends on what (where) you want them for.
The biggest advantage of smart in-wall switches over smart bulbs is the way that the switch works with both the light and the ST hub. If you turn on or off the physical smart switch, you can turn it back on or off with ST. (And if you turn it on/off from ST, you can still turn it on/off from the physical switch.) As well, the smart switch still functions like a normal switch even when ST isn’t working.
With smart bulbs, if you turn off the bulb from a fixture or switch, the bulb is disconnected from the ST “network.” That means that ST can’t turn it back on. In fact, ST can’t even find the state of the bulb, so it’s almost as if you just completely unscrewed the bulb. In other words, for things to “work” properly, you can ONLY use ST to…
And this one for discussion of some different types of add on switches:
To be politically correct: “spouses,” not “wives.” My mom is the computer science professor, my dad has no tech skills whatsoever. (Hi, Mom! LOL)
Anyway, there is an option for each kid’s room if you want to go to the trouble, and you just want button control inside the room rather than for kids on the go…
you get a cheap android tablet, should be under $50.
You install a version of SmartTiles or a similar dashboard app and install only the devices that tablet has access to.
You wall or desk mount it in kiosk mode inside a frame that doesn’t give them access to anything else.
http://www.smarttiles.click/
The following picture is from a similar community created dashboard by florianz. Again you would limit the tiles in each room to the ones that kid is supposed to have on/off access to…