Get the Best Family Activities
—If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t apply it on your skin! Children who are allergic to foods such as soy cannot use skin care products containing the same.
Hear their pain
Swimmer’s Ear is an often painful condition that plagues young water-loving children. Also known as Recreational Water Illness, it’s is an infection of the outer ear canal, caused by water sitting in the ear. Drying the ear thoroughly after swimming, and using earplugs, are two ways of preventing swimmer’s ear; a new antibiotic ear drop, Floxin Otic, is a topical treatment that will get your kids back in the water quickly.
Pool safety
—The Terrapin Wireless Gate Alarm is the utmost in pool safety, with an alarm that warns parents the moment a child opens the gate to a pool fence without an adult, and if the pool fence gate fails to latch closed within 11 seconds of an adult entry. $100 at www.safetyturtle.com; (800) 368-8121.
—But everyone who has a pool or is vacationing near one should review safety procedures with the DVD, Ten Minutes for Life. This DVD, from Baby Otter Swim School, offers a step-by-step guide to pool safety. $17.95 at www.tenminutesforlife.com.