Anyone with kids has experienced it: You try to put swim goggles on your child, and he or she yipes as the strap pulls on hair.

With three kids taking swimming lessons, Karen Toby knew the problem well.

“They shed a lot of tears,” says Toby, who lives in the north Chicago suburbs. “I would gingerly put the straps on, but they complained a lot.”

She shopped around for a fix and discovered there wasn’t one, so she took matters into her own hands.

“I borrowed a friend’s sewing machine, ordered some neoprene and started sewing.”

She tried different materials and different sizes, then had her children test them at the pool and followed their suggestions.

The result is the Gogglemate.

It’s a piece of fabric that wraps around the strap and prevents the hair-pulling. Not only that, it keeps goggles afloat.

And the Gogglemate ($7.99) comes in a variety of colors and designs, so kids can find one that appeals to them.

“Parents tell me they’ll be at a pool and because of the bright colors they’re able to spot their child,” Toby says.

The Gogglemate can be ordered through gogglemate.com, where there’s also a video demonstration of how it works.