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Hawaii is paradise for children: beaches to run on, water to splash in, and unusual sights to see.

The larger hotels and resorts offer supervised programs for children and can refer you to qualified babysitters. By state law, hotels can accept only children ages 5 to 12 in supervised activities programs, but they often accommodate younger children by simply hiring babysitters to watch over them. You can also contact People Attentive to Children (PATCH), which can refer you to babysitters who have taken a training course on child care. On Oahu call tel. 808/839-1988; on the Big Island call tel. 808/325-3864 in Kona or tel. 808/961-3169 in Hilo; on Maui call tel. 808/242-9232; on Kauai call tel. 808/246-0622; on Molokai and Lanai call tel. 800/498-4145; or visit www.patchhawaii.org.

Baby's Away (www.babysaway.com) rents cribs, strollers, highchairs, playpens, infant seats, and the like on Maui (tel. 800/942-9030 or 808/875-9030), the Big Island (tel. 800/996-9030 or 808/987-9236), and Oahu (tel. 800/496-6386 or 808/222-6041). The staff will deliver whatever you need to wherever you're staying and pick it up when you're done.

Recommended family travel Internet sites include Family Travel Forum (www.familytravelforum.com), a comprehensive site that offers customized trip planning; Family Travel Network (www.familytravelnetwork.com), an award-winning site that offers travel features, deals, and tips; and Family Travel Files (www.thefamilytravelfiles.com), which offers an online magazine and a directory of off-the-beaten-path tours and tour operators for families. Also look for the just released, first edition of Frommer's Hawaii with Kids (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

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