Chelsea Kaplan’s Musings About Life... After Birth

Summer’s just around the corner, which means that for me and the Momtourage, time spent strolling around the mall and playing in the germ pit at the My Gym will soon be replaced with days at the park and the pool. Because we all live in DC, this unfortunately means we - and our kids - will be exposed to hordes of bloodthristy mosquitoes.

Perhaps it’s because he’s just so sweet, but my kid always seems to get particularly attacked by these evil bugs; even after just 15 minutes spent outdoors last summer, the poor guy would look as if he’d just caught a bad case of the chicken pox. I wanted to do all I could to protect him from the mosquitoes, but dousing him in acrid-smelling, chemical-laden bug repellent didn’t seem like a safe alternative - especially after reading about how large amounts of DEET, a common chemical in bug repellent, can induce comas in little kids. While I understood the mosquitoes’ phenomenal taste in children/dinner, I wasn’t cool with allowing my child to serve as their version of filet mignon, so I knew I had to find a solution.

Fortunately, I discovered Avon’s Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus IR3535 Active Insect Repellent Gentle Breeze Towelettes. These kid-safe, DEET-free handy little insect repellent wipes are not only tremendously effective, but their insect repellent delivery is genuis: the repellent is soaked onto individual towelettes, with just enough to cover one person. They’re so much easier to apply than repellent from a spray bottle; there are no drippy, leaky, sticky bottles to fool with, and you won’t need to worry about squirting yourself or your kid in the eye with chemicals or creating a huge cloud of noxious gasses when you use them. Though the towelettes are pleasantly scented with Skin So Soft’s signature sweet/musky scent, there’s no need to worry that their yummy smell with actually attract bugs. In fact, mosquitoes react to them much like I do when I hear Celine Dion’s music: they leave the scene immediately, knowing that their senses have just been painfully assaulted. The result: you and your kids are free to frolic outdoors without fear of being eaten alive. As an added bonus - the towelettes even have SPF 15 in them. What more could you want, really?

The towelettes - perfect for tossing (and taking up little room) in your summer beach bag -are $5.99 for a pack of 8. To purchase, click here. When you have a bite-free summer, you’ll thank me.