Tick Time!
Ok ladies if you live on Long Island like I do, or almost anywhere else that has an out of control tick population, then you need to listen hard and good. Do not be afraid to check your children for ticks! My kids know the drill and when I say they know the drill I mean they know we have to get down and dirty searching every crevice for ticks. It is kind of funny to watch them drop trow and bend over because they have done this time and time again.
Ticks come out as soon as the weather starts to get warm and are one of the hazards of spring/summer time. They are literally everywhere: in the grass, crawling on the benches at your child's sports field (this happened at my son's lacrosse practice), in the wood chips at the playground....everywhere! Just because you spray your grass it does not mean you are 100 percent safe from ticks so please don't get a false sense of security. If you have never tick checked your child before you should start with all of the "warm" areas: armpits, hair, behind ears, and in their private areas. You should also give them a once over in other places as I literally found one on my son's eyelashes once! They also like to crawl up your body so you may see one crawling on your child's clothing or up their arms and legs as that little sucker is searching for the heat source.
I would love to recommend a good product to spray on your child but I feel like every time I hear something is good, the next thing I hear about it is that it doesn't work that well. The only thing I have heard the best reviews on is Deep Woods Off and yes I know it is full of chemicals....probably why ticks avoid it! If I do have to spray this on my kids I try to spray it on their clothing and not them.
One product I will recommend time and time again is the Ticked Off Tick Spoon. I first saw this when my school nurse used it on the children at school. First off, it isn't scary for them at all and second of all it is the easiest thing to use! I have not only used this on my own children but also on my dogs. They come in a bunch of different sizes and are fool proof!
Please, I beg of you, be diligent during these warmer months and constantly tick check your child. I know that it may be scary or uncomfortable for some but I will take the tick checking over Lyme's Disease any day of the week!