I used a large crochet hook, a ball of fabric yarn and an LED rope light. You can find the rope light at you local home improvement chain store. My rug was kid-sized, so I used a smaller rope light, but this could also work as a large light-up rug for a dark hallway or bathroom.
Step 2: Start Crocheting Your Rug

To start, I made a magic circle, a crocheting technique in which your fingers hold an untied circle while crocheting around it. The circle itself isn't secure until you make a few stitches. If you don't know how to make a magic circle, here's a great tutorial to explain it.
Step 3: Insert Your Rope Light

I crocheted 3 rows of my rug before adding the rope light, because I was only making a small kids rug. I could have also stitched a larger center out of just the yarn and inserted the lights around that, or I could have inserted the lights at the very beginning so that they would be right in the middle.

To insert the rope light into my rug, I alternated crocheting one stitch in front of the rope, and one stitch behind the rope. The stitches felt a little wobbly as I went, but they worked themselves out and stiffened as I added more.
Step 4: Continue Crocheting Until You Reach the End of the Light Rope

This part goes much faster than you would think, because the rope is thick. As you get into the groove, this is also a very relaxing project! Turn on some music or watch your favorite TV show as you work.
Step 5: Lay It Down and Plug It in

When you're done crocheting, place your rug close to an outlet in your children's room and plug it in! Warning: bedtime might be a bit more exciting than usual...