I guess I am the grumpy exception, I hate glowing things on rides. The worst though, are the toys that light up and spin around. Sorry, but I want to ride dark rides, in the DARK. It is almost as bad as guests taking flash photos, maybe even worse, because it will last the whole ride.
That said, I GET it, my kids were afraid of really dark rides when they were young, too. If it was on their lap, it would be fine. The twirling toys and light sabers, glowing swords, certainly do not stay on the laps. Small 6" type glow sticks would be much much better. And I think they might comfort some kids.
We just tried to avoid dark rides, but that is hard to do.