Photo from Swim Outlet

Waterpro Kids Swim Goggles, $6.95

It's August and while some moms are already thinking about back to school, it's also steamy hot. It feels like summer has finally arrived (after a very rainy start). I've been taking my daughter to the beach every day to cool off, which means I've been using sunscreen—and lots of it.

Every day I seem to hear about another toddler drowning accident and it freaks me out because my kids are both in that precarious age bracket between wanting to be in the water and not knowing how to swim.

The most recent tragedy that popped up in my Google Alerts involved a 19month old boy not five miles from my home. For some reason, the proximity makes the danger all the more real to me.

This tot was asleep for the night (or so it seemed) and in the care of his 15 year old cousin, while his mother ran out for a quick errand. For some reason the 15 year old thought it would be fine to leave the house and go fishing, since the mother would be right back.

The little boy busted down the baby gate, went outside, and climbed up the steps to the above ground pool. The mother found the toddler unconscious in the pool a short while later. He was brought to the hospital, but it was already too late.

Answers to the most commonly asked sunscreen questions on CafeMom, from skin cancer expert and dermatologist Barbara Gilchrest, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology:

Do sunblocks with a higher SPF offer better protection against the cancer and wrinkle causing rays?

For everyday use April through October, in temperate climates, an SPF 15 is fine for adults and children age 1 year and older. SPF 30 or higher is a good number for people who live in the middle, southern and western areas of the country.

If you'll be in direct sun for more than an hour, especially at a beach, pond, or pool, a higher waterproof SPF product is the way to go. Extremely high SPF products (greater than 50) are more expensive and unnecessary if you're already being "sun smart."

Photo from DadLabs

Jennifer Crain of Mommy's ER is over on DadLabs with some good, all-natural home remedies for common summertime ailments like bee stings, sunburn, and swimmer's ear.

Photo by KimberlieA

For some CafeMoms, deciding on a sunscreen isn't as simple as picking which number SPF to use.

Sunblock can be expensive, and to save money some moms will put it on their kids but not themselves. Some CafeMoms don't use it because they are allergic and break out in hives or rashes. Other women who follow a more natural lifestyle shun it becaue of the chemicals and ingredients used in many of the popular products.

A few have even resorted to making their own sunscreen.

"I've always felt sunscreen was more dangerous than the sun," notes one CafeMom.

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